Corn Bread Sausage Stuffing

This is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I could eat this for days, and I do. Add over easy eggs to it the next day for breakfast, so yummy!

You can buy box cornbread mix or make it from scratch, no judgement!

This corn bread recipe makes enough for you to steal a couple pieces to eat right away, you will use about 2/3 for the stuffing. You can make the corn bread a couple days ahead; it's okay if the corn bread dries out some. You can also make the stuffing the day before Thanksgiving and refrigerate it until the big day. Take the dish out an hour or two before putting in the oven.

Ingredients

Corn Bread

• 2 cup (240g) fine cornmeal

• 2 cup (250g) all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 2/3 cup (134g) packed light or dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup (60ml) honey

• 2 large egg, at room temperature

• 2 cup (480ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

Stuffing

• 4 pound sweet Italian Sausage

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

• 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped

• 1 1/2 cups onions, chopped

• 2 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 tsp poultry seasoning

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 3/4 cup chicken broth

Instructions

For Cornbread:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F . Butter a 9x11 baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and honey until smooth. Then, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Avoid over-mixing.

5. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. Use a toothpick in the middle to test. Cool before slicing.
   

For Stuffing: Butter 15x10x2 glass baking dish. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

1. In large skillet over medium high heat, sauté sausage until browned and cooked through, breaking up into small chunks. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.

2. Add butter to same skilled and melt over medium heat. Add celery, onions & sage; sauté until onions beige to soften, about 10 minutes. Add vegetable mixture to sausage bowl. Add parsley, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper to sausage bowl and stir to combine everything.

3. In small bowl, whisk together eggs and chicken broth. Stir crumbled corn bread and egg mixture into sausage mixture. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Carefully use the broiler if top needs to crisp up more. Serve & enjoy!