Servings 8
Ready in:
4 Hrs
Category: Breads, Chicken - Holiday
This old-fashioned cornbread dressing is flavorful, tender and moist. Not fancy,its ingredients are simple. Grandma didn't hold with the notion thatthe more stuff you put in cornbread dressing, the better it is.
The heart of the dressing is the cornbread, and the following recipeproduces a coarse-crumbed, flavorful base for the dressing. Serve this dressing as part of a complete dinner as detailed in Turkey and Most of the Trimmings.
Ingredients:
The Cornbread
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3 tablespoons bacon drippings
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2 large eggs
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1-1/2 cups corn meal
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1 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1-1/4 cups buttermilk
The Dressing
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1 9x13-inch pan of cornbread, crumbled
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10 white or whole wheat bread heels (left out overnight)
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poultry seasoning (see below)
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rubbed sage (see below)
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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3 large stalks celery, chopped
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1 large onion, chopped (2-1/2 to 3 cups)
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1 large green pepper, chopped
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3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)
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4 cups chicken stock
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1 cup turkey pan drippings (from cooked turkey -- you are cooking a turkey, aren't you?)
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3 large eggs, slightly beaten
Giblet Gravy
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3tablespoons butter
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3tablespoons all-purpose flour
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1cup drippings from roasting pan that have been skimmed of fat
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1cup chicken broth
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salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
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1tablespoon dry Sherry (not cooking sherry)
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1 to 1-1/2 cups turkey giblets (chopped pieces of cooked liver and neck)
For the Cornbread For the dressing For the Giblet Gravy
Note: With dressing of any kind, seasoning and consistency are crucial to the success of the dish. Tastes vary widely, and that is why approximations are given for the poultry seasoning and sage. Start with the amounts given (I don't like my dressing too sagey), and if that's not enough to suit you, add more during the cooking process when you taste it.
As for the consistency, you can always add more stock to moisten it (I like mine nice and moist -- just about the same consistency as mashed potatoes), but I've seen dressing that had to be sliced like a loaf of bread -- too dry for my liking. But you'll probably want to make it the way your mother or Aunt Sally or whoever made it.
Ready in: 4 Hrs
Kitchen tools you'll need for Cornbread Dressing and Giblet Gravy:
9x13 Baking Dish,Skillet, Food Processor, Small Saucepans, Mixing Bowls
Recipe editor Patricia Mitchell