Simple cornbread dressing, for use as turkey stuffing

Our Thanksgiving turkey doesn't get all decked out the way some others' do. For several generations, now, we've kept it neat and simple, because...why mess with perfection? You pick up a bird, make sure the brine isn't one with too much salt, sugar, or peculiar flavor additives (if I had my druthers, we'd drive an extra 40 minutes -- round trip -- to get one unbrined, so I could fix it just right, but I don't own the car or the budget, so...) 

Not Norman Rockwell, but darned close to it ;)

Anyway.

Plan to begin the process at least three days ahead of serving, because you need *stale* cornbread. And -- here's the tricky part -- you generally don't want that cakey, overly-sweet mix with the honey in it. You want a basic, savory cornbread. If you buy a mix, keep it simple, and buy a couple of boxes of Jiffy brand, or for those who have family with celiac issues, Krusteaz makes a fairly nice gluten-free version. They're as reliable as you can get. For me, since I'm cheap, have problems with wheat, and Pop sometimes gets in a baking mood, I make my own cornbread mix, using Pamela's gluten-free all-purpose flour and Saco brand powdered buttermilk..

Make a double batch of your savory cornbread, using melted butter where it calls for oil. Don't cut corners. This is a holiday food. 

Once you've baked that cornbread and it's just cooled enough to handle, cut it into cubes. Itty bitty cubes. You know those croutons you get at restaurants, from the salad bar? Aim for a tad bigger than that size. Ballpark it, if you have to, but you don't want them any bigger than an inch long. Or, if you have a kid who wants to help, have him break up the cornbread into pieces comparable to the end of a thumb, from joint to tip. 

Cornbread r squared

When it's all in bits, the cornbread needs to thoroughly dry out. Spread it out on a pair of cookie sheets, or a tray of foil, or whatever will allow you to have a loosely-distributed single layer of cubes or crumbs. If you're in a hurry, pop it right back in the not-yet-completely-cooled oven, set the temp around 200°F, and let it toast for 20 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cornbread chunks alone in there until you're either ready to assemble the rest of the dressing, or you need the oven for soething else (but – and I cannot emphasize this  enough, based upon my own experiences – do not forget it and let it burn. That makes it taste nasty and will set off your fire alarm), whichever comes first.

Then comes the second stage.

You need a roasting pan and a bird.

A minimum of 12 pounds is ideal, for the bird. The weight of the pan is mostly irrelevant, unless you're dealing with a monster bird and a teeny, flimsy, disposable foil pan which... please don't. Go find a real pan. 

Once you have the  pan, and the plan...Panama! Oh, wait. No, let's not butcher a palindrome. Let's just prepare a bird. You'll also need cheesecloth and butter. And a baster or a good spoon for ladling, to baste a roasting bird.

But the bird is another page…

This is about the dressing.

Cornbread. Butter. Mushrooms. Onions. Celery. Rubbed sage. Salt. Pepper. If you have it, chicken or turkey stock. 

Around here, every time we buy a chicken or turkey, we take the bones and other scraps (especially the roasted skin) out before anybody can gnaw on them, and we turn them into our own long-simmered bone broth, which we bag up in a corner of the deep freezer. You can probably get away with using store-boughten broth, though, if you need. I don't recommend the powdered or cubed bouillon, though. Get some good stuff. This is a holiday, gosh dern it!

Once you have all the ingredients prepared, you can make the dressing as much as 24 hours before you plan to use it, but if you're going to stuff the bird with it, don't do that part until right before it goes into the oven (don't want to risk salmonella coming to dinner).

From this point forward, it's all in the assembly, and it becomes a matter of personal taste.  You may decide you want to add a cup of cooked sausage, chopped apples, fresh cranberries, chopped dried apricots, or any of a a gazillion potential combinations, you may decide you like more moisture, or gravy folded in at the beginning… this is just the simple, clean base we like best.

Cornbread Dressing (for use as stuffing, too)

Ingredients: 

8 cups crisply stale or toasted savory cornbread cubes (make at least 2 days ahead, for proper firmness)

2 cups lightly seasoned, low sodium turkey or chicken broth

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), divided into thirds, cut into tablespoon-sized pats

1 pound cleaned, sliced button or cremini (baby bella) mushroms 

1 small red onion, cut coarsely (about 3/4 to 1 full cup)

1 large or 2 small sweet onions, cut coarsely (I use Vidalia onions, when I can)

3 cups celery, sliced on a bias, about 1/4 inch thick – leaves included

1-3 teaspoons rubbed sage (I'm from the less-is-more school, where this is concerned)

1 teaspoon salt

ground pepper to taste 

Directions: 
Prepare the cornbread well in advance – baking, breaking into cubes, and allowing it to become crunchy-stale. Put it in a very large bowl.

A bowl full of crunchy bits

In a small saucepan or microwaveable bowl, heat broth until simmering (no need to boil).

Heat a large frying pan, wok, or sauté pan at high temperature. Melt 1/3 of the butter, and, as soon as the solids begin to turn golden-brown, add in half the sliced mushrooms, tossing them to lightly cover with the butter. Allow to cook on high, relatively undisturbed, until they start to brown and slightly crisp, stir, allow other sides to brown around the edges.  Stir into the bowl of cornbread crumbs. Repeat with second half of mushrooms.

'Shroomies. I like to make 'em squeak with anxiety from the high heat.

Two – count them, TWO – varieties of mushrooms, for nuance. Also, these were on sale.

With the last portion of butter, in the same frying pan, stir fry the celery, onions, rubbed sage, salt, and pepper until onions turn translucent. Add 1/2 cup broth*, stir (mostly this is to deglaze the pan & pick up all those caramelized flavors sticking to the bottom).  Add to cornbread and mushrooms. Stir well. Here is where you need to use a little restraint: you may need to add some more broth, at this point, if the bread is still too crisp in the center. But if you add too much, you'll make it soggy and gross. So, if you're adding more broth, do so a couple of tablespoons at a time, tossing well with the wooden spoon after each addition – until the bread is moistened, but still noticeably firmer than you like it when it's served at the table. Then quit adding.  There's already a substantial amount of moisture coming from the vegetables. 

Less is still more.

Onions, celery, rubbed sage, salt, pepper…these are actually pretty tasty even without the rest of the dressing. But let's not stop short of perfection.

Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

May be refrigerated overnight, in bowl (or 1.5 gallon zipper bag).

When you fill your turkey with this, be sure to avoid overstuffing it. It should be very loosely packed into both the body and neck cavities, with plenty left over. What won't fit, put back into the fridge until just before the bird is due to come out of the oven. 

When the turkey is due to come out of the oven, bring out the remaining dressing, put it in a large, buttered, oven-safe bowl, and set it close to where you'll be letting the turkey rest (yes, you'll want a foil tent for the bird, and you'll want the thing to sit under that tent for at least 20 minutes after coming out of the oven, before you try to carve it).  Before you do anything else with the turkey, scoop the stuffing out of the cavities and add it to the reserved dressing. Stir it together, then place it in the oven until completely warmed (about 20 minutes). 

Close. Gonna add another spritz of broth.

*Odds are, you won't need much – if any – of the remaining 1 1/2 cups of broth, but if you like your dressing to be more like a bread pudding, you may want to add it into the mixture until the cornbread is saturated.  We prefer to leave a little bit of resistance – firm cornbread, crunchy bits of celery, etc. I have been known, though, to stir in a half cup or so of gravy right before I put it on the table.

Feast! Family! Fun!