This corn bread stuffing is a stroke of genius. It's so easy, you'll be making it far more often than once a year for Thanksgiving! Shelley Wiseman, author of Just Tacos, knows a thing or two about corn—and not just in tortillas—and she decided to skip the process of drying the cubes of corn bread in the oven. That alone is a huge time-saver. To enliven the corn bread, she balances the flavor punch of chorizo with the sweetness of onions and corn kernels. When it comes time to bake it in a dish (not inside the turkey), she forgoes the old process of covering the stuffing—which allows steam to soften the dried bread—because the bread isn't dry. She simply bakes it uncovered, so that the top gets golden with crispy brown edges, while the interior stays moist.
•Spanish chorizo is a dry-cured pork sausage that gets its distinctive smoky flavor from pimentón de la Vera, a sweet red chile grown in the La Vera valley of western Spain, and slowly smoke-dried before being ground into a powder. There are many different brands of Spanish chorizo and they vary surprisingly in looks, texture, and flavor. Some are imported from Spain and some are made in the United States. A Spanish brand we particularly like is Palacios, which is available in some specialty markets, Latino markets, and by mail order from tienda.com.
•Corn bread can be baked 1 day ahead and kept covered at room temperature.
•Stuffing can be assembled without stock 4 hours ahead and kept, loosely covered, at room temperature.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 1/2 hours
Yield
Makes 8 to 10 servings (10 cups)
Ingredients
Corn bread:
Stuffing:
Special Equipment
Preparation
For corn bread:
Step 1
Heat oven to 400°F with rack in middle and butter an 8-inch square baking pan.
Step 2
Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Step 3
Whisk together milk, egg, and butter in a small bowl and stir into dry ingredients. Pour batter into buttered baking pan.
Step 4
Bake until golden and a tester comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 5
Cool corn bread in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool completely.
Step 6
Cut corn bread into 3/4-inch cubes and put in a large bowl.
For stuffing:
Step 7
Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, then add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
Step 8
Add chorizo, corn, sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add parsley.
Step 9
Toss chorizo mixture with corn bread and transfer to a 13- by 9-inch baking pan. Drizzle with chicken broth.
Step 10
Bake at 400°F uncovered, until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Recipe notes
Back to topSee Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
Our 39 Best Stuffing Recipes
Call it stuffing or call it dressing; what's important is that everyone knows it’s the best part of Thanksgiving dinner.Our 67 Best Cornmeal Recipes
Looking for cornbread, corn cake, or corn muffin recipes? You've come to the right place.
