No Friendsgiving for us this year and it's the first time I haven't had to make my stuffing in a long time.
I use half white bread, half homemade cornbread. It's incredible. Big shoutout to Kenji for being the best thing to happen for home cooks in the past 20 years.
Drying (not stale-ing) the bread is the most important step. Don't skip it!
Cornbread:
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly, plus 1 additional tablespoon for pan
2 tablespoons canola oil
Directions
Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on middle rack in oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and canola oil. Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined.
Using pot holders, carefully remove hot skillet from oven. Place 1 tablespoon butter in skillet and swirl to completely melt and coat inside of pan. Pour in cornbread batter and place in oven. Bake until skewer inserted into middle of cornbread comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 5 minutes, then carefully turn out to wire rack and let cool an additional 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Reheat any leftover cornbread before serving again.
Stuffing: (Go half white bread, half cornbread. I think the above cornbread recipe makes about 2.5 pounds of cornbread so I just double the recipe below)
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds (1.25kg) high-quality sandwich bread or soft Italian or French bread (about 2 loaves), cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 5 quarts)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick; 4 ounces; 115g)
1 1/2 pounds (680g) sage sausage, removed from casing
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 12 ounces; 350g)
4 large ribs celery, finely chopped (about 12 ounces; 350g)
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on a Microplane grater
1/4 cup minced fresh sage leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried sage leaves)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed (see note)
1 quart low-sodium homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken or turkey stock (4 cups; 1L), divided
3 large eggs
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves, divided
Directions
Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Spread bread evenly over 2 rimmed baking sheets. Stagger trays on oven racks and bake until completely dried, about 50 minutes total, rotating trays and stirring bread cubes several times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Increase oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming subsides (do not allow butter to brown), about 2 minutes. Add sausage and mash with a stiff whisk or potato masher to break up into fine pieces (largest pieces should be no bigger than 1/4 inch). Cook, stirring frequently, until only a few bits of pink remain, about 8 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add half of chicken stock.
Whisk remaining chicken stock, eggs, and 3 tablespoons parsley in a medium bowl until homogeneous. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, slowly pour egg mixture into sausage mixture. Add bread cubes and fold gently until evenly mixed.
Use part of stuffing to stuff turkey, if desired (see note). To cook remaining stuffing, transfer to a buttered 9- by 13-inch rectangular baking dish (or 10- by 14-inch oval dish), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer reads 150°F (66°C) when inserted into center of dish, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown and crisp on top, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle with remaining parsley, and serve.