Southern Cornbread Dressing
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When I was growing up, anytime we went to my Maw Maw's house for the holidays there was ALWAYS a pan of her cornbread dressing. ALWAYS. No matter what holiday it was, that pan of yummy SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING was always sitting on the top of her dishwasher. She had a portable dishwasher and that thing was H-E-A-V-Y, it was like trying to push and pull a hippopotamus over to the sink. That dishwasher top, it was home to the dressing pan and her yummy biscuits at all the gatherings.
This southern girl would love to have this dish on the menu every month. But, it is one of those favorite treats we look forward to at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I am even known to cook a smaller pan for supper throughout the year.
I've eaten different versions of cornbread dressing and while they were good, they were not my Maw Maw's recipe. Many add bread and/or crackers to their recipes, I don't. The only bread you will find in this recipe is cornbread. Honestly, I've tried adding bread and crackers and it just doesn't taste the same.
While cornbread dressing is good by itself, it is a lot better with giblet gravy on it. The giblet gravy is made with that little bag of innards from a turkey or a chicken. You don't necessarily have to use giblets to make gravy; in fact, I don't even like to use some of those horrendous pieces of the bird to make my gravy. The thought of eating pieces of a heart, just doesn't sit too well with me. Instead, I use the gizzard and pieces of the bird after its cooked and I just chop them up. In the picture below, I had some dove breasts in the freezer and I used a couple of those to make this gravy and it worked perfectly.
There is something about a pan of hand pressed dressing! To me, it just doesn't seem the same if you can't see the little hills from being pressed in the pan. Oh yes, it must be baked in cast iron, that is if you have cast iron. If not, a 9x13 baking dish will work just as well; I won't judge. Wondering about my cornbread recipe? This is our FAVORITE and it is easy to divide in half. When I bake the whole recipe I use my LODGE pan (pictured below).
Now that I have your mouth watering, here's the recipe.
Ingredients:
Dressing:
*Giblet Gravy:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degree.
In a pan, saute the garlic and onion in oil until translucent. In a large bowl, mix the cornbread, seasonings, eggs, onion and garlic. Add stock and mix well. You want the mixture to be wet but mot overly juicy. ( you may not even need the chicken broth, if you have a lot of turkey stock.) Reserve 2 tablespoons of mixture. Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake for about 45 minutes.
Giblet Gravy:
Bring stock to a boil along with giblets. Reduce heat and add reserved dressing and egg. Cook for 2-3 minutes, add salt and pepper. * If your gravy is a little thin, you can thicken it with some cornstarch.
Southern Cornbread Dressing and Giblet Gravy
This southern girl would love to have this dish on the menu every month. But, it is one of those favorite treats we look forward to at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I am even known to cook a smaller pan for supper throughout the year.
I've eaten different versions of cornbread dressing and while they were good, they were not my Maw Maw's recipe. Many add bread and/or crackers to their recipes, I don't. The only bread you will find in this recipe is cornbread. Honestly, I've tried adding bread and crackers and it just doesn't taste the same.
While cornbread dressing is good by itself, it is a lot better with giblet gravy on it. The giblet gravy is made with that little bag of innards from a turkey or a chicken. You don't necessarily have to use giblets to make gravy; in fact, I don't even like to use some of those horrendous pieces of the bird to make my gravy. The thought of eating pieces of a heart, just doesn't sit too well with me. Instead, I use the gizzard and pieces of the bird after its cooked and I just chop them up. In the picture below, I had some dove breasts in the freezer and I used a couple of those to make this gravy and it worked perfectly.
There is something about a pan of hand pressed dressing! To me, it just doesn't seem the same if you can't see the little hills from being pressed in the pan. Oh yes, it must be baked in cast iron, that is if you have cast iron. If not, a 9x13 baking dish will work just as well; I won't judge. Wondering about my cornbread recipe? This is our FAVORITE and it is easy to divide in half. When I bake the whole recipe I use my LODGE pan (pictured below).
Now that I have your mouth watering, here's the recipe.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients:
Dressing:
- 1 pan of cornbread, cooked, cooled and crumbled
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP oil
- 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 TBSP sage
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2+ cups turkey stock
- 1 carton chicken broth
*Giblet Gravy:
- 4 cups stock/broth
- giblets, chopped
- 2 TBSP uncooked cornbread dressing
- 1 hard boiled egg, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degree.
In a pan, saute the garlic and onion in oil until translucent. In a large bowl, mix the cornbread, seasonings, eggs, onion and garlic. Add stock and mix well. You want the mixture to be wet but mot overly juicy. ( you may not even need the chicken broth, if you have a lot of turkey stock.) Reserve 2 tablespoons of mixture. Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake for about 45 minutes.
Giblet Gravy:
Bring stock to a boil along with giblets. Reduce heat and add reserved dressing and egg. Cook for 2-3 minutes, add salt and pepper. * If your gravy is a little thin, you can thicken it with some cornstarch.
