Recipe of the Week: Grandma's Cornbread Dressing and Giblet Gravy (2024)

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The heart of the dressing is the cornbread, and the following recipe produces a coarse-crumbed, flavorful base for the dressing. Serve this dressing as part of a complete dinner as detailed in Turkey and Most of the Trimmings.

The Cornbread

(Note: This is our recipe for 365-Day Buttermilk Cornbread)

• 3 tablespoons bacon drippings

• 2 large eggs

• 1-1/2 cups corn meal

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

  See Also

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• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Put the bacon drippings in a 9x13-inch baking dish and put itin the oven while it is preheating. The drippings will melt while you're mixing up the batter.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the corn meal, salt, baking soda and baking powder, and stir tocombine. Add the buttermilk and stir well. Remove the hot dish from the oven. Swirl the dish tocoat it with melted bacon drippings, pour the bacon drippings into the batter and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the pan, and bake 20 to 25 minutes. The cornbread will begin to pull awayfrom the sides of the pan.

Make the cornbread a day before you intend to make your dressing. Leave itout, uncovered, overnight.

The Dressing

• 1 9x13-inch pan of cornbread, crumbled
• 10 white or whole wheat bread heels (left out overnight)
• poultry seasoning (see below)
• rubbed sage (see below)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped (2-1/2 to 3 cups)
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup turkey pan drippings (from cooked turkey -- you are cooking a turkey, aren't you?)
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Crumble the cornbread and white bread into a very large bakingdish or pan (This is the pan you will cook your dressing in, and you need room to stir it while it's cooking).

In a large skillet, sauté the celery, onion and green pepper inbutter over medium heat until onion is transparent. Combine the sautéedvegetables with the bread crumbs and mix well. Note: The dressing up to this point can be prepared an hour or so in advance.

When you are ready to bake the dressing, add the beaten eggs, chicken stock and turkey pan drippings, and stir. (You may need a little more chicken stock -- better if it's too moist than too dry; the uncooked dressingshould be a little on the slushy side.) Add 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning,1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage, black pepper, and mix thoroughly.

After baking for 15 minutes or so, stir dressing down from the sides of the pan so thatit cooks uniformly (my mother's term was "rake through it"). Check the seasonings; that is, taste it. If you don't taste enough sage for yourliking, add 1/4 teaspoon or so with a little chicken stock, stir it in, and taste again. Careful, a little sage goes a long way.

Total cooking time should be about 30 minutes. (This cornbread is our 365-Day Buttermilk Cornbread.

Giblet Gravy

• 3tablespoons butter
• 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1cup drippings from roasting pan that have been skimmed of fat
• 1cup chicken broth
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1tablespoon dry Sherry (not cooking sherry)
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups turkey giblets (chopped pieces of cooked liver and neck)

The Giblets: I use just the liver and pieces off the neck(I give the gizzard to the cat, and my husband eats the heart.) I alwayscook the neck with the turkey -- tuck it down in a corner of the pan. You can cook the liver the same way: submerge it in the broth in the roastingpan about30 minutes before you expect the turkey to be done, or you can put it in a small saucepan, cover with a cup or so of lightly salted water and simmer it for 30 minutes. Since burner space is at a premium when preparinga holiday meal, I usually opt for the cook-it-with-the-turkey method.

Over medium-low heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan until it is bubbly, sprinkle in the flour and stir quickly for a minute or so to cook theflour. Slowly stir in the turkey drippings and chicken stock, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth and thickened. (Note about lumps: Lumps are nothing to be embarrassed about. They happen. If you've got some lumps and want to get rid of them, strain the gravy now, because you won't be able to after you add the giblets.)

Reduce heat to low, and check the seasonings. Add salt and pepper onlyif you think it is necessary. Some people (me) like to add a tablespoon or two of sherry at this point. It makes a wonderful difference. Add the giblets and simmer for about 10 minutes.

You can make your gravy early, keep it warm, and heat it back up a bitjust before serving, if you like.

Leave a comment, or Like this on our cornbread dressing recipe page.

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