Sausage Pecan Dressing

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In Georgia, we call it dressing

though it’s known everywhere as the uncontested star of Thanksgiving

Dressing is the best part of Thanksgiving; why not double down and throw in some pecans? For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we make two dressings: our traditional, familiar, delicious white-bread-and-cornbread dressing, and this, our dressier dressing. It’s gussied up with sausage, pecans, and heaps of fresh herbs. This is a recipe that’s easily customized: it’s been built on and altered for a few years now, and will probably be edited by the time this is posted. Enjoy this iteration!

  • 1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

  • 3 eggs

  • 1/3 cup milk

  • 1 1/2 sticks of butter

  • 1/2 lb loaf of good quality day old bread, broken into 1 inch cubes

  • 1 lb breakfast sausage

  • 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped celery

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 3 cups chicken broth

  • 2 cups pecans

  • 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley

  • 2 tablespoons fresh sage

  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

1) Prepare and bake Jiffy cornbread mix according to package instructions. Reduce heat to 250 degrees. Break up cornbread with spoon into small pieces, and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Place white bread cubes on other baking sheet. Bake until dry, about one hour.

2) Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet over medium high heat until browned. Drain and transfer to very large mixing bowl.

3) In same skillet, heat 3/4 cups of butter. Cook chopped onions and celery until soft and translucent. Transfer to bowl with sausage.

4) Return skillet to medium high heat. Add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Add 2 cups of pecans, stir for about two minutes, until toasted. Add to bowl with sausage.

5) Add prepared bread to mixing bowl. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups of broth, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let cool.

6) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk 1 1/2 cups of broth and 2 eggs in small bowl. Fold gently into cornbread mixture, without mashing bread. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and bake covered with foil for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake additional 40 minutes.



David Johnsonrecipes