Many of us south of the Mason-Dixon line serve dressing rather than stuffing on Thanksgiving. There are different kinds of dressing, and your preference probably depends on the style your mother or grandmother made. I prefer to make my dressing as Greg’s grandmother did. She made a spoonable dressing, with a thinner consistency. (Some dressings are the consistency of cornbread.) She always recommended making cornbread dressing ahead of time and storing it in the freezer so that the flavors would have a chance to meld.
This recipe is Greg’s grandmother’s, only with a few changes. Years ago I began adding Pepperidge Farm stuffing like my mother-in-law does. Then I started making my homemade chicken broth and changed up the cornbread to Mexican cornbread. The combination has my family begging for more! You can always substitute homemade country style cornbread (not sweet) if you prefer.
I like to keep this homemade chicken broth in the freezer for any recipe that calls for broth. The homemade taste is much better than any you will find in the store and in my opinion well worth the time it takes to make it. If you do not already have the broth prepared, I would suggest that in making this cornbread dressing you split the tasks up into two days. Making the broth on day one and the cornbread and dressing on day two.
Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- Mexican Cornbread (recipe below)
- 1 (14-oz.) bag Herb Seasoned Stuffing
- 2 to 3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock (recipe below)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 2 lg. minced onions
- 1 c. finely chopped celery
- 1 c. melted butter
- 4 eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Crumble cornbread in a very large bowl. Add Herb Seasoned Stuffing to bowl. Pour stock over crumbs to soften and let stand while you prepare onions and celery.
- While bread crumbs are soaking, cook onions and celery in melted butter over low heat until softened, stirring occasionally. When soft pour onto bread crumbs and stir together.
- Add poultry seasoning and black pepper, stir and taste for seasoning. Add beaten eggs, stirring well. Pour into a large greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
- If desired you can spoon into freezer container and freeze up to 6 months. Thaw dressing in the refrigerator and follow baking directions above.
- Makes about 18 cups.
Notes
Can be stored in the freezer for about 6 months.
Mexican Cornbread
Author:
Amye Melton
Ingredients
- 2¼ c. yellow cornbread mix
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- ½ c. oil
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 (8.5-oz.) can cream style corn
- 1½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 lg. onion, grated
- chopped jalapeno peppers, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients. Heat a large, well greased iron skillet at 400 degrees for 3 minutes or until very hot. Raise temperature of oven to 450 degrees.
- Pour batter into hot pan, bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Homemade Chicken Broth
Author:
Amye Melton
Ingredients
- 3 (5-lb.) roasting chickens
- 3 lg. yellow onions, unpeeled and quartered
- 6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
- 4 celery stalks with leaves, cut in thirds
- 4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half (optional)
- 20 fresh parsley sprigs
- 15 fresh thyme sprigs
- 20 fresh dill sprigs
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
- 2 tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
Instructions
- Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, salt and pepper in a 16- to 20-quart stockpot. Add 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim any foam that comes to the surface. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours.
- Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander. You can discard solids if desired. (I save the chicken, cool, pick the meat from the bones and use immediately, or freeze.) Pour stock into containers and refrigerate. When the stock is cold, remove the surface fat and refrigerate or freeze.
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