Stuffing Recipe

This cornbread stuffing recipe was passed down from Grandmother’s mother’s mother, Mary Christiana Herrin. Each generation adds a little something to it (the water-chestnuts were Grandmother’s contribution) and passes it on.

PRE-BAKING
Start by making cornbread two or three days ahead of time (i.e., for Thanksgiving, make on Monday night): either follow the directions on Albers Corn Meal box (double recipe) or make two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix (using “Johnny Cake” directions); use slightly larger pans than the directions call for, you don’t want the cornbread to be too thick and soft: more crust means more flavor, firmer chunks, and less crumb.

Let cool on a rack overnight, then break up in big chunks in a large bowl next morning; add two or three slices of white bread as well, then set aside uncovered someplace out of the way, preferably near a window that gets sunlight. The bread should be dry and stale before you start breaking it up into smaller pieces. These should mostly be in crouton-sized chunks, but there will also be a lot of loose crumbs.

CHOPPING
Several hours before baking (i.e., start at night to bake in the morning), do your chopping:
       One medium or large yellow onion.
       One cup or so of celery hearts with the leaves on.
       One-half to three-fourths large Red Delicious apple, cored and peeled.
       Half a can of water chestnuts.
       Two or three hard-boiled eggs.
You want to do this by hand, and take your time with it, to get the proper size and consistency of ingredients—you’re dicing more than chopping, really, the pieces should be between an eighth and a quarter of an inch square; if you chop too coarsely, the flavors don’t blend well; and if you chop too fine (like with a food-processor), you lose the texture.

SEASONING
When you’re done chopping, put the apple, egg, and water-chestnuts in the refrigerator; then add the following ingredients to the bowl of stale bread:
       Onion
       Celery
       Black pepper
       Salt
       Garlic powder or minced garlic
       Lots of rubbed sage
       (Tarragon and just a dash of clove optional—my contribution)
There is no real measurement used for the seasonings, you have to go by smell: start with a teaspoon of each (tablespoon for the sage) and keep adding a bit of this and a bit of that until it smells strong, rich, and savory with just a bit of sharpness. Shake the bowl to distribute the ingredients around but not break up the bread any further. Set this aside (lightly covered but not sealed) overnight so the flavors can seep into the bread.

BAKING
When you’re ready to start baking, set your oven to 375° and then add the chopped apple, boiled egg, and water-chestnut, then shake the bowl to distribute evenly. Add three raw eggs (stirred up so the yolks and whites are mixed but not blended) and six cups of chicken broth (three cans of Swanson’s), then mix it all up—but stir gently, so as to not break down the bread chunks too much. The result should be very soupy and grainy in texture.

Pour into a greased 9”x13” cake pan or iron roasting pan and bake for forty-five minutes to an hour. After thirty minutes, check on it to make sure it isn’t drying out; if it is, pour in another cup or two of broth and gently mix in. It can be difficult to judge the color to know when it’s done, so you want the top to feel firm and dry.

SERVING
If you baked in a cake pan, you can either serve it in that or in a bowl; if you used a roasting pan, definitely scoop it out into a bowl. If you used it to stuff the turkey, bake it a little longer in a dish to give it a bit of a crust, and then serve.

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