If anything could be more Southern than fried chicken, it's cornbread dressing. Once passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, this lovely, old-fashioned tradition is becoming a lost art. What a shame. Real dressing can be intimidating and does take a little trial and error, but the smile on every lucky person you bless with this heavenly dish will make you glad you took the time.
Instructions
Make Old-Fashioned Southern Cornbread Dressing
1. Decide the day before between using potatoes or bread in the dressing. If using bread, lay out the pieces the night before so they will dry out.
2. Prepare the ingredients: Preheat the oven to the temperature stated on the cornbread package instructions. Plop a tablespoon of lard into the skillet, and place the skillet in the oven while the oven heats. Whisk both cornbread mixes together in a mixing bowl according to the instructions on the package, but add four teaspoons of salt and a tablespoon of oil. When the oven has heated and the lard has melted, remove the skillet. Pour the cornbread mix into the skillet. (It should sizzle). Use the package instructions to gauge the cornbread's baking time; however, insert a toothpick in the middle to test for doneness before removing it from the oven. The toothpick should come out clean.
3. Prepping the additional ingredients: Dice the onion and celery stalks, and boil them together in a pan, covered in chicken broth, for one hour. Add broth if needed. Do not drain the broth after cooking. Boil the eggs with two teaspoons of salt for twenty minutes. Remove from the heat and drain; then cover the eggs with cold water, and add the ice. Peel the eggs after five minutes; then chop them into cubes. If using potatoes instead of bread, peel the potatoes and cut into ?" cubes. Boil them with two teaspoons of salt until soft, but not mushy, then drain.
4. Put the dressing together: Crumble the cornbread with your hands into a large mixing bowl. Add the onion/celery mixture (including the broth), the eggs, the bread or potatoes, and the pepper. Add enough canned broth to thoroughly moisten all the ingredients, and stir thoroughly with a spoon (not a mixer). Add the sage a pinch at a time, stirring after each pinch, and then taste test the result. Keep adding the sage until you detect a hint of it in the taste test.
5. Bake the dressing: Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and plop another tablespoon of lard into the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven to heat, melting the lard, as before. Pour the dressing into the skillet, and smooth the top. Bake for one hour; then remove from the oven and stir. If the dressing is moist, smooth the top, return the skillet to the oven, and bake until the top is browned. If the dressing is not moist, add a half-cup of broth and stir. Continue adding broth and stirring until the dressing becomes moist; then return the skillet to the oven. After another hour, repeat the process. After achieving the desired moistness, smooth the top and bake until browned.
Tags: into skillet, skillet oven, teaspoons salt, bake until, bake until browned
