GF Cornbread Dressing

The other thing that always comes to my mind at Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing. Not stuffing, because I don't stuff the turkey anymore. I don't even cook a turkey anymore. My son-in-law smokes a turkey that is simply to die for (and gluten free, of course). So I can make the southern in the pan, more like a souffle than a stuffing kind of dressing. And of course, now I make it gluten free. I also make it in a slow cooker, which frees up the oven for sweet potato casserole and homemade GF rolls.

GF Cornbread Dressing
Adapted to be GF from Southern Living 11/02

Cornbread:
1/4 c. butter
3 c. cornmeal
1 c. GF flour
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
3 large eggs
3 c. buttermilk
2 T bacon grease or cooking oil.

Dressing:
1 1/2 c. GF bread crumbs
1/4 c. butter
2 c. diced celery
1 1/2 c. diced onion
6 T fresh sage, minced
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 to 2 1/2 c. rich turkey stock or chicken broth
2 t or more black pepper

For the cornbread:

Note: can be made up to a week in advance. Cornbread freezes well.

Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together. Melt butter and add it to 3 c. buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture and beaten eggs to dry ingredients. Stir until no longer lumpy. Heat 1-2 T bacon grease or oil in a 10” cast iron skillet in the oven until it sizzles. Pour batter into skillet and bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve up to 1/2 of the cornbread for dinner and save the rest. If you make this ahead of time, you can have cornbread and spicy collards for dinner that evening. Leave the rest of the cornbread in a cold oven overnight so that it can dry out. Then freeze until ready to use in the dressing.

For the dressing:
Crumble corn bread and mix with bread or biscuit crumbs in a large bowl. Sauté the onions and celery in butter until soft. Add sage and sauté one more minute. Add to cornbread mixture. Add eggs, beaten, 2 cups of the turkey stock and the black pepper. Mix gently. Cook in a 6 qt. slow cooker on high heat for 2 hours. You may want to add an additional 1/2 cup of stock if the dressing gets too dry during the cooking process. Pour it over the top of the dressing top, though, don’t stir it in.