This is the stuffing my mom used to make, albeit from pre-made sausage and 3 for $1 Jiffy cornbread. It wasn’t until StoveTop Stuffing commercials were on TV that I realized the rest of the world ate boring, often gloppy white bread stuffing. The bread-based one my Yugoslav mom, Marijana, made was the only one I found to be exceptionally delicious. The cornbread version wasn’t my real mom’s invention, but came from an old cookbook — either the Joy of Cooking or Julia Child, I believe.
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I include this recipe on this blog instead of the Nutrition Heretic website as it uses the turkey liver. You can also add chopped gizzard and heart, if you want, but I’d chop fine and cook from the start with the pork, if dealing with picky eaters. After some 30 years of Thanksgivings, I’ve never had anyone complain about eating poultry organ meats this way as they are chopped reasonably small and blend beautifully with the ground pork.
Typically, I start this within the last 2-3 hours before serving. This gives the gravy stock enough time to get flavorful, yet isn’t so early that when I reheat it the organ meats go hard, thereby becoming more noticeable to fussy eaters.
Although you could make this and stuff it inside the turkey, it slows down the already lengthy cook time of the bird. Instead, consider making it in the same pan used to make the cornbread, then pour some of the gravy from the remaining giblets over it to moisten. By tossing it in the oven to brown, you get crispiness on the outside with the tender moist crumb inside.
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Since I like the cornbread to stand up to the rest of the mixture for textural interest (as opposed to practically mashing it back into meal), I generally use the crusty sides of the cornbread, leaving a square of the interior, which is further cut into smaller squares for anyone wanting plain cornbread (with butter!). This gives me lots of leeway with tossing and stirring without beating the poor thing to a pulp. The chunks of cornbread also give a place for the wads of butter and gravy to soak into, while still maintaining the bread’s integrity.
While I don’t hate the taste of celery, I don’t always see the point of it. This stuffing is one rare place that I find celery integral to the dish’s success. Cooked for a long time with onion and pork, it lends a different type of sweetness to the stuffing.
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I hope you enjoy it as much as my guests always seem to. Dare I say, over the years I’ve converted many plain bread stuffing lovers into cornbread stuffing fanatics! Fanatics might be pushing it, but a time or two I have been told that someone was surprised to find they liked this stuffing better to their old favorite.
Let’s get into it.
Ingredients
- bacon fat or lard
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- small bundle sage, chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt
- 1 package cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)
- liver from turkey, deveined and finely chopped
- sides of your cornbread
How to Make the Best Cornbread Sausage Stuffing
In a large cast iron skillet, sauté pork, onion and celery in bacon fat. Here, I’m using all the fat from one pack of bacon minus what was used in the cornbread.
When the onions and celery are good and limp, fold in the liver and heart. When liver is almost cooked, you can start adding in cornbread. The point here is that the liver flavor and texture become more noticeable, if it is overcooked. But you can also chop it much finer so that it disintegrates into the ground pork.
Fold the cornbread into the pork concoction to evenly distribute the ingredients.
At this point, I usually cover it and set this aside perhaps on a back burner in the warmest part of the kitchen. About 20 min before serving, I’ll remove the cover, add some turkey stock, and toss it in the oven to get a crunchy crust on top.
What’s your stuffing tradition? Do you have an ethnic twist to your stuffing? Please share your favorite recipe below!
The Best Cornbread Sausage and Stuffing Ever!
Ingredients
- Bacon fat or lard
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 stalks Stalks celery, chopped
- 1 small bundle sage, chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- freshly ground black pepper
- sea salt
- 1 package cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)
- 1 iver from turkey, deveined and finely chopped
- sides of your cornbread
Instructions
- In a large cast iron skillet, sauté pork, onion and celery in bacon fat. Here, I'm using all the fat from one pack of bacon minus what was used in the cornbread.
- When the onions and celery are good and limp, fold in the liver and heart. When liver is almost cooked, you can start adding in cornbread. The point here is that the liver flavor and texture become more noticeable, if it is overcooked. But you can also chop it much finer so that it disintegrates into the ground pork.
- Fold the cornbread into the pork concoction to evenly distribute the ingredients.
- At this point, I usually cover it and set this aside perhaps on a backburner in the warmest part of the kitchen. About 20 min before serving, I'll remove the cover, add some turkey stock, and toss it in the oven to get a crunchy crust on top.
