Cornbread and Sausage Dressing with Pecans
By Tested and perfected in the Sur La Table kitchen
Cornbread and Sausage Dressing with Pecans
By Tested and perfected in the Sur La Table kitchen
Yield/Serves:
Makes 8 to 10 servings
- ¾-cup unsalted butter plus more buttering baking dish
- 1 pound day-old cornbread
- 1 pound day-old cornbread, broken into 1½-inch–2-inch pieces (9 cups)
- 1 pound Italian sausage links, casings removed
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼-cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup toasted pecan halves
- ½-cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 250°F. Grease a 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish with butter and set aside. Cut cornbread into 1½-inch cubes and divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Transfer into the oven and bake until completely dried about, about 1 hour. Stir cornbread often as it bakes to ensure it cooks evenly. Cool cornbread and transfer to a large bowl.
To a large skillet set over medium-high heat, add sausage and cook until browned, about 9 minutes, breaking up the sausage with a spoon into bite-size pieces. Transfer to the bowl with cornbread.
To the same skillet, add butter. When butter melts and foam subsides, add onion and celery, and cook until softened and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the cornbread and sausage.
Return skillet over medium-high heat. Add vinegar and cook, scraping down the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Pour vinegar and 1½-cups chicken broth over cornbread, sausage, and vegetables, and gently stir to incorporate. Gently stir in herbs, pecans, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350°F. To a bowl, add remaining 1½-cups broth and eggs; whisk to combine. Gently stir into the cornbread mixture. Transfer to the buttered baking dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes.
To a large skillet set over medium-high heat, add sausage and cook until browned, about 9 minutes, breaking up the sausage with a spoon into bite-size pieces. Transfer to the bowl with cornbread.
To the same skillet, add butter. When butter melts and foam subsides, add onion and celery, and cook until softened and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the cornbread and sausage.
Return skillet over medium-high heat. Add vinegar and cook, scraping down the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Pour vinegar and 1½-cups chicken broth over cornbread, sausage, and vegetables, and gently stir to incorporate. Gently stir in herbs, pecans, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350°F. To a bowl, add remaining 1½-cups broth and eggs; whisk to combine. Gently stir into the cornbread mixture. Transfer to the buttered baking dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes.