Pepper-and-Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Name: Pepper-and-Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 pounds andouille sausage, or substitute fresh chorizo or hot Italian sausage; 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced; 2 ribs celery, cleaned and diced; 2 red or orange bell peppers, seeded and diced; 2 poblano or Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced; 2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced; 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, cleaned and roughly chopped; 1 to 2 cups turkey or chicken stock (recipe here; if using store-bought broth, use low-sodium variety); 2 whole eggs, beaten; 1 pan corn bread (recipe here), cut into chunks and allowed to dry overnight (alternatively, toast fresh corn bread in warming oven for approximately 10 minutes); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

By Sam Sifton

Total Time: 1¼ hours
Rating: 4(135)
Comments: Read comments

This dressing combines corn bread, turkey broth, three kinds of pepper and a healthy scattering of fiery sausage for a Thanksgiving dish that is crunchy on top, moist within and alive with flavor. The copious use of that turkey broth, or a good chicken broth, is crucial here; also necessary is an understanding that the cooking should last long enough to crisp the exterior without burning it, while not going on so long as to dry out the dish. When in doubt, add a splash more broth. And know that this dish works well for any gluten-avoiders at your table; the related cornbread recipe does not use wheat flour.

Featured in: Serious Turkey Stock

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share this recipe
Print this recipe
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 servings

2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½pounds andouille sausage, or substitute fresh chorizo or hot Italian sausage
1medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
2ribs celery, cleaned and diced
2red or orange bell peppers, seeded and diced
2poblano or Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced
2serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
2tablespoons fresh cilantro, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 to 2cups turkey or chicken stock (recipe here; if using store-bought broth, use low-sodium variety)
2whole eggs, beaten
1pan corn bread (recipe here), cut into chunks and allowed to dry overnight (alternatively, toast fresh corn bread in warming oven for approximately 10 minutes)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil in large flat-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and sauté until browned, approximately 10 minutes. Remove to a large bowl and set aside.
Step 2
Add onions and reduce heat to medium, then sauté until they begin to turn clear and soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add celery and peppers and continue cooking until peppers begin to soften, approximately 10 minutes.
Step 3
Pour vegetable mixture into bowl with sausage, add cilantro and toss to mix.
Step 4
Return pan to heat and deglaze with a splash of chicken stock, then scrape contents into bowl with sausage and vegetable mixture.
Step 5
Pour mixture into a large roasting pan and add beaten eggs and cubed corn bread, mixing by hand. Add turkey or chicken stock to moisten, cover with aluminum foil and place in oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is soft and the flavors well incorporated. For a crunchy top, remove foil for final 10 minutes of cooking. Dressing can be made ahead of time and reheated later. Add additional stock if needed, and salt and pepper to taste.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5

135 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Comments

Anne H8 years ago

I have, happily, made this recipe for the last two years. Make sure you cut up the corn bread in small pieces so everything blends nicely. I use all the recommended peppers, and the stuffing has a nice kick that pairs nicely with turkey and gravy.

Craig E.8 years ago

I am now the biggest Sam Sifton fan! Since my cooking is usually limited to around holiday times, I always need recipe suggestions. Put this together today on a test run and it is so tasty that we ate it all for a late lunch. Great to find a dish with a little kick to it. In fact I added a small habanero just for laughs. The family is used to spicy foods and this is already a favorite. Plus you got me to finally buy Kosher salt. Enjoy your holidays.

Eric7 years ago

Andouille is definitely a sausage in a casing and needs to be sliced (about 1/2 inch or about 1 cm) before browning. Chorizo can be bought without a casing or the casing can be easily removed.

Anne Hess1 week ago

I make this every year. It is fabulous. I have learned to make 1/2 the recipe because a full recipe makes way too much stuffing.

Tracy1 year ago

Terrible. Followed recipe exactly. Used anaheim & serrano peppers & hot Italian sausage. Biggest mistake: using the linked recipe for cornbread. Vile, so that wasn't a strong start. Hot Italian sausage is not a good choice mixed with the pepper mix. Anaheim peppers were a negative, & there wasn't much seasoning outside of the sausage. Even with better cornbread, it would be less than the sum of its parts. The only + was that it was GF, but I would rather not eat stuffing than eat this.

Kweaver3 years ago

I made this same recipe from Sam’s book, “Thanksgiving”. It doesn’t have eggs in the book version and it is delicious.

Private comments are only visible to you.