Cornbread stuffing

Cornbread stuffing

Cornbread stuffing from (mostly) scratch

Ingredients

For the cornbread

  • 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
  • 0.33 cups of cultured buttermilk
  • 1 egg

For the stuffing

  • Cornbread, torn into chunks
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter (or other flavorful fat such as bacon drippings or schmaltz)
  • 0.75 pounds breakfast sausage, removed from casing
  • 1 small onion, diced (a scant cup)
  • 1-2 large stalks celery, diced (a bit over half a cup)
  • 1 carrot, diced (a bit under half a cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 0.5 cup white wine
  • 1 tbsp dried sage
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp marjoram
  • 1.5 cups homemade chicken stock, divided (may not use all of it, add 1 unflavored gelatin packet if using store bought stock)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the cornbread ingredients together, then bake for 15 minutes or so in an 8x8” greased pan. Allow to cool, then tear into inch-ish chunks. Set aside.
  2. In a Dutch oven, melt butter or fat. Add sausage and smash into bits while cooking. Cook until no pink remains. Remove from the Dutch oven and set aside.
  3. Add a touch more fat to the pan if needed. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook until veggies are all soft and start to brown. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
  4. Add white wine to deglaze the pan.
  5. Fold together the cornbread chunks, sausage, and veggies in the pan.
  6. Add the marjoram, sage, pepper, and stock. Fold together gently.
  7. Bake at 375°F uncovered for 25-35 minutes. The time depends on the size of your pan. It’s done when an instant-read thermometer reads 150°F or above.

Notes

  • Makes about half or so of a 5qt Dutch oven, perfectly scaled for ~6 people. Recipe scales up easily.
  • Kids pick out the veggies? Pulse the onion, carrot, and celery in the food processor for distinct chunks that are harder to remove.
  • Go easy on the salt - there’s already some in the bread and sausage and stock, so taste first! I add none and it’s plenty salty.
  • Once folded together, it can be refrigerated for a day or two as long as it’s tightly covered in foil or plastic wrap.
  • If omitting the breakfast sausage, don’t use as much stock. Can substitute in other sausages or unsalted nuts too.