Cornbread, Sausage, Apple, & Pecan Stuffing

Lizzie-Babette's Note:

Breads, fruit, nuts, and sausage combine to make a tasty stuffing for a 20-lb turkey or a casserole of dressing on the side. If you're using a smaller turkey, you can put excess stuffing in a smaller casserole dish and bake it while the turkey's resting before carving. Southern influenced, this has become our favorite dressing for Thanksgiving or any special occasion. You could add other fruits (cranberry AND apple, for example) or different nuts or seasonings to suit your tastes. Adapted from "The Silver Palate Cookbook".

• Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 cups finely-chopped yellow onions
• 3 tart apples , cored and chunked, but not peeled (Jonathan, Winesap or Granny Smith)
• 1 lb bulk breakfast sausage , with sage (or your favorite bulk sausage)
• 3 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread
• 3 cups coarsely crumbledwhole wheat bread or 3 cups multi-grain bread
• 3 cups coarsely crumbledFrench bread or 3 cups Italian bread
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• salt and pepper , to taste
• ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 ½ cups shelled pecan halves (do not chop)
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth (optional, for a more moist dressing)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Melt half the butter in a large skillet.
3. Add onions and cook over medium-low to medium heat until tender and lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
4. Remove onion and butter from pan and put in a very large bowl to be mixed later.
5. In same skillet, melt rest of the butter, add apple, and cook quickly over high heat until lightly browned, but not mushy.
6. Remove apples and butter from pan and put in the bowl with the onions.
7. With the pan back on the burner, add sausage, crumbling as you cook it over medium heat, and cook until lightly browned.
8. When done, remove with a slotted spoon and add it to the mixing bowl.
9. Reserve drippings for basting later.
10. Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine gently.
11. If you're going to stuff a turkey, cool completely in the refrigerator first.
12. To cook it as a separate dressing, spoon the mixture into a large casserole (13 x 9 or slightly larger), cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30- 45 minutes at 325, basting occasionally with cooking juices from the turkey or with reserved sausage fat, if needed.
13. Uncover the pan for the last 10 minutes of cooking to brown.
14. Serve hot or warm.
15. Note: You may need to use additional broth (approximately one 14 ounce can) as necessary to adjust the moistness of the stuffing to your taste, or if there are insufficient drippings from your poultry.

Reviews

[Leta]

A wonderful dressing. Moist, flavorful; I served it as a side dish with turkey breast and raspberry sauce. I halved the recipe and still had an 8X8 baking dish full of dressing. I didn't have any broth or drippings, so I dotted the top of the dressing with a tablespoon of butter before covering, and it came out very moist, but not greasy.

[Chef #948744]

I made this for today's Thanksgiving dinner and the family was in awe! This recipe is definitely a keeper. I made a few minor modifications based on some of the reviews and experience making stuffing: 1)peeling the apples is a must; 2)used 3 different types of Stove Top Stuffing (turkey, chicken, and cornbread) to save time; 3)omitted all spices since they were contained in Stove Top Mixes; 4)Added 1.5 cups dried cranberry for added taste and color; 5)Used 20 oz Chicken Broth vs. 14 oz; 6)Used the remaining ingredients as listed. 6)Made this last night and baked at 325 for 40 minutes fully covered; Cooled and then refrigerated overnight; 7)In preparation for today's dinner, I took it out of the refrigerator and let it set covered at room temp for about an hour before I wanted to reheat; Added 10-12 oz Chicken Broth into the mix and stirred; Reheated fully covered for 30-35 minutes at 350;

[mom2ozzy]

This was the very first dressing I ever made and it was sooo good! After mixing it up , it seemed a little dryer then I was used to so I added some chicken broth to it. About half way through I added a little more. Perfect! My family raved, even my husband and brother, both of which are not too keen on stuffing. This will definitly be on the table for the holidays.