Josh Quittner’s Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Bake

by: Ella Quittner

October27,2018

4.6

8 Ratings

  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 55 minutes
  • Serves 4 to 6 as a side

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Author Notes

When I asked my dad for his stuffing recipe (which I think about obsessively all year-round), he wrote back, "Not only do I not have it written out, I've never seen it written out. I make it a little differently each time—my father taught it to me, and I think it's the same stuffing everyone makes." After much needling, I got him to share the basics, which produce a phenomenal stuffing as written. But feel free to add your own twists, like he does every year. Grated Parmesan, for example, would take this over the top. (My dad's dream twist, he noted, would be the addition of fresh oysters: "Every year, I resist the temptation to add them, because your mother hates oysters in stuffing, or hot oysters in anything for that matter.")

Lastly, he noted that while you can substitute your own cornbread (left out to grow stale), he's tried it a few times, and doesn't think it's worth the trouble. "In fact," he said, "It seems like a criminal waste of fresh corn bread, which you could have eaten hot and slathered in butter." I can attest that I've eaten this same stuffing every year for decades, and have never noticed the difference. —Ella Quittner

  • Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

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Josh Quittner’s Cornbread and SausageStuffing

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoonsolive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 4 sweet Italian sausages, uncased
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3/4 cupfresh mushrooms, cleaned and chopped roughly, your favorite type
  • 1 tablespoonbutter
  • 1/2 cuploosely packed fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoonsloosely packed fresh sage leaves (just a couple of leaves), finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoonloosely packed fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons(heaping) kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoonfreshly cracked pepper, plus more to taste
  • 1 (14-ounce) package cornbread stuffing
  • 1/2 cupdried sour cherries
  • 3/4 cupcup of nuts (I like pecans, but pine nuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, separately or in combination, are all good)
  • 1 cupchicken broth, plus more if needed
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 350°F.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the largest skillet you can find, and brown the sausages thoroughly on all sides, breaking them up into bite-sized pieces with your cooking utensil. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon, set aside and reserve the fat.
  3. In the fat, sauté the onion until it's translucent. Throw in the celery, and sauté until it begins to soften. Add the mushrooms, and with them, toss in a tablespoon of butter to help them brown, rather than gray. Once the mushrooms are browned, add the salt, pepper, parsley, sage, and thyme, and stir to combine. Turn off the heat.
  4. In a very large mixing bowl, or a large pot that you have dragooned into service as a large mixing bowl, empty the bag of cornbread stuffing. Add the sautéed, seasoned vegetables, browned sausage, cherries, and nuts. Moisten the mixture with about a cup of chicken broth. Mix up the stuffing bare-handed, or if that doesn’t appeal, use a large spoon. The mixture should be wet enough such that you could form a snowball out of the stuffing and throw it across the work table at a child you’ve convinced to help hand-mix the stuffing—but not wet enough to leave a mark. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed; it probably needs more salt.
  5. Pack the stuffing into a medium or large casserole dish, and bake covered (e.g., by foil) for about 40 minutes, until warmed through. Then, remove cover, and place the casserole dish under the broiler. Watching closely so it doesn’t burn, let the top of the stuffing brown before removing from the broiler to serve.

Tags:

  • Stuffing/Dressing
  • American
  • Butter
  • Celery
  • Cherry
  • Herb
  • Onion
  • Pecan
  • Sausage
  • Olive Oil
  • Mushroom
  • Weeknight Cooking

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Jcblue

  • Cara Fior

  • Ella Quittner

  • Gammy

Popular on Food52

4 Reviews

Jcblue November 11, 2022

This is nearly identical to my cornbread stuffing, and I think it’s the best! I add dried cranberries instead of cherries and chestnuts in place of the pecans. It’s delicious!

Cara F. November 17, 2019

It tasted lovely, but it came out a little crumbly - maybe I needed to add more broth?? After reading the other review, I only added a bit of kosher salt and it seemed to be the perfect amount. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on leftovers the next day and it tasted even better! I'll definitely mix in more Parm the next time I make it.

Gammy November 23, 2018

Made this recipe this year for Thanksgiving. Didn't add the mushrooms due to guests' preferences, but the dressing still had good flavor and everyone pronounced it a winner. Loved the dried tart cherries. Personally I thought it needed less salt. I used Pepperidge Farm Cornbread stuffing mix and then added salt and pepper at the end just before cooking as suggested. Next time will leave out the additional salt.

Ella Q. November 25, 2018

Hi Gammy,

So glad you enjoyed it. In my experience, some varieties of sausage are much saltier than others, so perhaps that caused a bit of an imbalance. Thank you for the feedback!

Ella

Josh Quittner’s Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What does adding egg to stuffing do? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

How soggy should stuffing be before baking? ›

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

What makes stuffing mushy? ›

You'll need day-old loaves to get stale so that the stuffing doesn't get too mushy. Don't cube that bread! Ragged, imperfect pieces of bread have more surface area; it's those nooks and crannies that give you good texture. Speaking of texture, that's what stuffing is all about--you want a mix of crispy and soft pieces.

What's the best kind of stuffing? ›

Our Top Store-Bought Stuffing Picks
  • Best Overall: Arnold Herb Seasoned Premium Cubed Stuffing.
  • Best Classic: Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing.
  • Best Instant: Stove Top Turkey Stuffing Mix.
  • Best Gluten-Free: Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Stuffing Mix.
  • Best for Celiac: Trader Joe's Gluten Free Stuffing Mix.
Nov 13, 2023

What does adding cornstarch to eggs do? ›

Adding a small amount of a starchy slurry to scrambled eggs — a technique learned from Mandy Lee of the food blog Lady & Pups — prevents them from setting up too firmly, resulting in eggs that stay tender and moist, whether you like them soft-, medium- or hard-scrambled.

What can you use as a binder instead of eggs in stuffing? ›

16 egg substitutes
  1. Mashed banana. Mashed banana can act as a binding agent when baking or making pancake batter. ...
  2. Applesauce. Applesauce can also act as a binding agent. ...
  3. Fruit puree. Fruit puree will help bind a recipe in a similar way to applesauce. ...
  4. Avocado. ...
  5. Gelatin. ...
  6. Xanthan gum. ...
  7. Vegetable oil and baking powder. ...
  8. Margarine.
Mar 30, 2021

Can you prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time and refrigerate? ›

If you don't plan on stuffing the bird, but preparing the dressing as a side dish, you can prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time as long as you freeze the stuffing immediately after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing.

Is it better to make stuffing the night before? ›

Absolutely. Most Thanksgiving stuffing recipes can be made at least partially in advance since: A) They're easily assembled a day or two ahead of Thanksgiving Day; and B) They're often baked using a two-step process (once covered with foil to cook through, then uncovered to achieve a crispy top).

Is it better to make stuffing the day before? ›

The short answer to whether you can making stuffing ahead of time is yes. "Making stuffing ahead saves time, allows stove and oven space for other things, and making it ahead gives time for the flavor to fully develop," Chef David Tiner, Director at Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, tells Southern Living.

What can I add to stuffing for more flavor? ›

Fruit, especially dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, figs and apricots can seriously improve a dreary box of stuffing. That bit of sweetness plays beautifully with other flavors on the table. I've found that fresh fruits like apples and pears are stellar as well.

Why is stuffing bad? ›

It probably comes as no surprise that stuffing isn't the healthiest addition to your Christmas or Thanksgiving plate, but that's no reason to omit it. Typically high in fat, carbs and salt, stuffing can be made fresh or purchased chilled, frozen or dehydrated.

How do you keep cornbread dressing from getting gummy? ›

Stir occasionally to ensure even drying. And if your dressing is still too mushy after baking, you can add more crumbled cornbread, dry bread, or even dry breadcrumbs or croutons to absorb excess moisture. Mix it in gently, so you don't compress the dressing too much.

What kind of bread is best for stuffing? ›

You can use any kind; store-bought white bread works well and would probably be my #1 suggestion for stuffing. You could also try using cut up dinner rolls, sourdough bread (actually this would be my personal first pick), challah, or anything else you want to experiment with.

Does Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix go bad? ›

Sometimes expiration dates need to be taken seriously, and sometimes food is safe to eat passed that date. If you mean the kind you buy in the store dry (such a Pepperidge Farm, no, it does not. It will last practically forever.

Why is stove top stuffing banned in Europe? ›

The EU requires warning labels on dyes, and countries like Austria, Finland, and Norway have banned Twinkies​​. Stove Top Stuffing: Contains a combination of beta-hydroxy acid (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), leading to its ban in countries like Japan, the UK, and several European nations​​.

Why use an egg as a thickener? ›

Creamy desserts such as crème brûlée also benefit from eggs' ability to emulsify and produce smooth, satiny, hom*ogeneous mixtures. Their ability to hold up to four times their weight in moisture makes eggs a good thickener for sauces, custards and curds. The proteins in eggs coagulate or set at different temperatures.

How do you keep stuffing moist? ›

Typically, baking the stuffing inside the bird helps keep the mixture moist. “I prefer stuffing (in the bird) to dressing (outside of the bird) because all those delicious drippings that come off the turkey gets absorbed right into the stuffing,” Bamford says.

Why do we need to apply egg yolk in some dressing? ›

1. **Emulsification**: Eggs or egg yolks act as emulsifiers, helping to bind together the oil and vinegar or lemon juice into a creamy and smooth dressing. This emulsification creates a stable mixture that prevents the oil from separating from the other ingredients.

What makes stuffing unhealthy? ›

Stuffing is not strictly a healthy food, because it is typically high in calories, fat, sodium, and refined carbohydrates. 1 But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, All foods can fit into a healthy diet in moderation.

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