Southern Cornbread Dressing with Chicken & Homemade Chicken Gravy

By msippigrl

Traditional Southern holiday dish, but is enjoyed any time of the year. Cornbread dressing is baked with the addition of cooked chicken.

Ingredients

• HOMEMADE CHICKEN GRAVY:
• 1 1 1 (10-inch) cast iron skillet of baked, cooled, and crumbled cornbread
• 4 to 5 4 to 5 2-day slices 2-day old white bread, crusts removed
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 cups onion, chopped (1 medium onion)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup celery, chopped (2 ribs celery)
• 1 1 1 stick butter or margarine, divided
• 2 2 2 jumbo eggs
• 4 to 5 4 to 5 5 cups chicken stock or broth*
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, optional
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• to to taste, optional
• 4 to 5 4 to 5 5 cooked chicken breasts, chopped (I boiled them)
• 2 2 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, optional
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup vegetable oil or salted butter (I used a combination)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 to 3 2 to 3 3 cups chicken stock or chicken broth*
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
• to and black pepper, to taste
• Pinch Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 35mins
Cooking time 80mins

Preparation

Step 1

Bake and cool your favorite unsweetened cornbread recipe; then crumble and set aside. *(I prepared 2 pouches Martha White Yellow Cornbread & Muffin Mix as directed on package, then cooled, crumbled, and laid out on jellyroll pan to dry out.)

Remove crusts from bread and tear into pieces then pulse in a food processor into crumbs but not too fine. Pour crumbs onto a jellyroll pan and place in a slightly warm oven for 15 to 20 minutes to dry out. Let cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, saute the onion and celery in 6 tablespoons butter, then set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In an extra-large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs; then stir in the sauteed onion and celery mixture, 4 cups chicken stock/broth*, poultry seasoning (if using), black pepper, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add the cooled and crumbled cornbread and bread crumbs, stirring gently just to combine, adding more stock/broth if needed (it needs to be a tiny bit soupy). Fold in the cooked chicken and boiled eggs, if using. Pour mixture into the baking pan.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until center is set and lightly browned. If it starts to brown too soon, tent a sheet of aluminum foil over the top.

Serve with homemade chicken gravy and cranberry sauce. And homemade mashed potatoes. And Southern green beans. And yeast rolls. :D

NOTE:

*If using chicken broth instead of stock, heat about 1 cup of it then dissolve 1 teaspoon Chicken Flavor "Better Than Bouillon" in it before adding to the cornbread mixture.


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Homemade chicken gravy:

Heat oil / butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat; whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in 2 cups chicken stock/broth*. Cook and stir until thickened to desired consistency, adding a bit more stock to thin if needed. Stir in heavy cream (if using), and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Note:

*If using chicken broth instead of stock, heat 1 cup of it and dissolve about 1/2 teaspoon of Chicken Flavor "Better Than Bouillon" in it to boost the flavor.