Mama’s Cornbread Dressing
If I remember one thing that was on Mama’s Thanksgiving table without fail, it was her cornbread dressing. And, it’s typically a staple on most holiday tables. When Mama and I would start preparing for the holiday meal, we’d look for every short cut and time saver we could, because when the holidays roll around things are hectic.
We’re sharing this recipe, because it’s a make ahead deal that will save time, has a great homemade flavor and won’t dry out!
We start out with a mix of chicken and turkey. Now, you can do this with just one or the other, but I think it gives it a heartier flavor with both. Once you’ve boiled the birds up and they are cooked through – I like to shred the chicken, but cut the turkey up into small bite-sized pieces.
You’ll add that to the onion and celery we sauteed up, along with the Stove Top mix and add cornbread. Start with a cup of cornbread and stir it in. You don’t want this mixture too wet, so if there’s a little liquid still pooling up add up to 1/2 cup more of cornbread.
Here’s the time saver part…
Do this the night before! Put all this in your casserole dish, cover and place it in the icebox. A bonus of this method is also that the flavors get to sit together longer and this method actually helps for a more even cooking the next day.
The next day, I like to take it out of the icebox at least 30 minutes before cooking to let it warm up a bit and reduce your cooking time.
Before you cook it, evenly spread 2 cans of cream of chicken soup on top. This is going to help from the dressing drying out and gives it its own gravy!
Tip for cooking the Dressing
If you are cooking this the same day you’ve prepared it, or you need to speed up the cooking time a bit: Take a spoon or spatula and lightly poke down in the dressing in several spots. This will help it bake through a little quicker. You can do this 1 to 2 times during the cooking process.
If you want to see us prepare this dish outside in our Dutch oven check out the video below for more tips.
So, wherever you are and whoever you may be sharing this dish with we hope you enjoy. And remember, it’s not the legs of the table that hold it up – it’s the family and friends gathered around it.
From our camp to yours… Happy Thanksgiving!
Mama's Cornbread Dressing - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 8 ounce chicken breast boneless skinless
- 8 ounce turkey breast
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 1 6 ounce box Stove Top stuffing mix
- 1 to 1 ½ cups crumbled cornbread
- 1 32 ounce box chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 2 10.5 ounce cans cream of chicken soup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 14-inch dutch oven or 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
- In a medium saucepan, add the turkey and chicken. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside to cool then shred the chicken and chop the turkey.
- In a large cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat then stir in the onion and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the onion, celery, stuffing mix, crumbled cornbread, chicken broth, sage and poultry seasoning. Stir in the turkey and chicken. Let it set a couple minutes to absorb the liquid. If there is excess liquid pooling along the edges add up to 1/2 cup more crumbled cornbread.
- Spoon the dressing mixture in the Dutch oven or casserole dish. Cover and place in the icebox overnight or until ready to cook. Take the dish out of the icebox about 30 minutes before baking.
- Evenly spread the cream of chicken soup over the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the mixture sets up and is sponge-like. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.