classic cornbread and sage stuffing

It's the week before Thanksgiving (already)! I'll be posting my favorite holiday recipes here all week, so be sure to check in.



When it comes to tradition, people get a little bossy.

For starters, someone is sure to point out that this is technically a dressing, since it's served on the side of the bird and not inside it. I wouldn't be surprised if another person was disgusted at my generous use of sage while others mocked my use of cornbread or proudly asserted that real cornbread dressing is made with hardboiled eggs and saltine crackers (a real thing). 

So on what grounds am I calling this a "classic?"

None really, except that this stuffing/dressing/delicious-excuse-to-eat-more-carbs is, to me, the very epitome of Thanksgiving, and everyone else can shut it.

This comforting combination of cornbread, aromatic vegetables and lots and lots of sage takes me to two places at once. First, to my childhood Thanksgivings, happily eating stuffing from the box - because this tastes like everything that box promised to be but never fully made good on. It also takes me just one year back to Betony's first Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone was a little bummed to work on the holiday, so it felt good to rip up stacks of cornbread (see below) for a stuffing similar to the one you see here. It also helped that over the next few days, I (and everyone else) never left the walk-in without sneaking a bite.



Regardless of your own traditions, I think we can all agree that everything tastes better cooked in duck fat. (Er, if you're a vegetarian...I like beets!) Duck fat, aka liquid gold, has a way of bumping up the savoriness of ingredients without monopolizing their flavor the way bacon can. If you can get your hands on some, do that. You could also cook a couple of duck breasts for a fancy dinner and save the fat that renders from them - you'll get around 1/2 cup from 2 breasts. It keeps for a long time in the fridge, and makes almost everything taste more luxurious (potatoes roasted in duck fat = life-changing).

But back to the stuffing. Carrots, onions, celery and garlic hang out in duck fat and mingle with those aromatic herbs so indicative of the holidays. There's the mellow sweetness of cornbread, crumbled and dried out beforehand to soak up all the more flavor around it. Everything's moistened with just enough chicken stock (or turkey drippings, if you're doing this day-of) and a little more duck fat before hitting the oven, then baked until the crags and corners crisp to perfection.

I know Thanksgiving dinner is notoriously stressful to host, but this whole recipe from start to finish is a reassuring one. Calming, even. Everything's going to be ok, it whispers. Everything will be great.

More Thanksgiving recipes on OOT:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts 2.0
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Banana Cream Pie
Easiest Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Classic Cornbread Stuffing
Recipe courtesy of Out of Thyme

Yield: about 12 servings | Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

This can be assembled ahead of time and kept covered in the fridge overnight before being baked. Leftovers keep in the fridge for a week, and reheat well in the oven or microwave (I'm telling you as I eat some). 

One 8x8-inch or 9-inch-skillet batch of cooked cornbread (I used this recipe)

3 tablespoons duck fat or butter, plus about 1 teaspoon for greasing 

1 large onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (2 1/2 cups)
1 large carrot, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)

5 stalks celery, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 1/2 cups chicken stock (*see note below)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Turn your oven to the lowest possible setting (for me, this was 200 degrees F).

Using your hands, break up the cornbread until the biggest chunks are the size of croutons. Spread everything out onto a baking sheet and let dry in the oven for at least one hour, stirring it halfway so everything has a chance to dry out. (Do this before prepping everything else).

Add 2 tablespoons of the duck fat to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, then add the onion, carrot, celery, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. When they have begin to let out some moisture, about 5 minutes, stir in the garlic. Continue to sweat the vegetables until they have begun to soften but still have a little bite left, about 15 minutes. Add the sage, rosemary and thyme and cook for 1 more minute. Taste the vegetables to make sure they're well seasoned. 

Take the cornbread out of the oven and increase the temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 teaspoon of duck fat.

Transfer the contents of the saucepan to a large heatproof bowl. Add the cornbread, chicken stock, heavy cream, some more pepper, the remaining 1 tablespoon of duck fat and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss well to incorporate everything together, taste for seasoning, then add in the egg and stir to incorporate.

Transfer everything to the prepared baking dish. (Don't worry about smoothing it out - a bumpy top means more surface area means more bits that will get crisp and tasty.) Bake until the corners just begin to turn golden brown, about 30 minutes. Top with the reserved chopped sage.

*Note: If making this on the big day, you could even get all the ingredients ready except for the stock, then use 2 1/2 cups of turkey drippings instead.