NO-BAKE SAUSAGE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING

No-Bake Sausage and Cornbread Dressing image

Provided by Geoffrey Zakarian

Time 30m

Yield 8 to 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 26

1 pound ground spicy pork sausage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chestnuts, canned or packaged, chopped
1 cup diced fennel
1 cup diced Spanish onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
4 cups crumbled cornbread, recipe follows
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Unsalted butter, as needed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, beaten

Steps:

In a large saute pan on low heat, add the ground spicy pork sausage and cook slowly to render out the fat, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, fennel seed and celery salt. Once the fat is rendered and the meat starts to brown and crisp, add the carrots, celery, chestnuts, fennel, onions, garlic and sage. Cook until the meat continues to brown, the carrots become soft and tender and the onions become translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the crumbled cornbread and chicken stock and stir until completely incorporated and the bread is moist. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the parsley.
Serve family style in a large bowl while still hot.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch cast-iron pan with butter.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk, whole milk, oil and egg until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick is smooth when tested, about 25 minutes.