Smoked Sausage Stuffing with Caramelized Onions
A simple smoked sausage, caramelized onion, and cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving, cooked on the smoker or grill.
Servings: 6 people
Cost: $15.00
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk spicy Italian pork sausage
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped (roughly 2 cups worth)
- 10 sage leaves, chopped (about ¼ cup loosely packed)
- 10 sprigs thyme, chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
- 6 cups day old/dried cornbread, chopped into 1-inch cubes (this works with regular or gluten-free cornbread)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chicken stock (may need more or less, see notes)
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or a few twists of fresh ground pepper)
Instructions
Smoke Sausage
- Pre-heat smoker to 225 degrees using fruit wood.
- Break up the sausage into quarter-size pieces and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Place on the smoker for up to 60 minutes, or until browned. Remove and transfer the sausage to a large bowl. Meanwhile, increase the grill temperature to 375 degrees, using a two-zone or direct/indirect method, to prepare it for cooking the stuffing.
Make Dressing
- Caramelize Onions: In a large skillet set to medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the chopped onions. Let them slowly soften and nearly caramelize (about 20 - 30 minutes), stirring often. Remove from heat and add the sage and thyme. Mix together. Transfer to the large bowl with the sausage.
- Add the cornbread pieces and cranberries to the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, chicken stock, and one egg. Pour that mixture over the cornbread and stuffing mix. Add salt and pepper and stir together. Add more chicken stock (just a couple tablespoons at a time) if the mix looks dry.
- Transfer to a buttered 10-inch round cast iron skillet for this size portion (alternatively a large buttered baking dish will work too)
- Place the skillet uncovered on the grill and bake until the top is golden brown (or about 30 minutes). Alternatively you can finish in the oven at the same temperature and time.
Video
Notes
Gluten Free: for a gluten-free version just make sure you are using gluten free cornbread.
For the cornbread, it's best to use day old cornbread. But if you forget to cook it the day before (it happens!), cut the pieces into 1" cubes and place them on a baking sheet, place under the broiler for a couple of minutes, monitoring closely, to dry out a little bit and toast up.
If the cornbread is still too moist, the texture of the dressing will be more cake-like.
Nutrition
Calories: 1721kcal | Carbohydrates: 212g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 77g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Cholesterol: 368mg | Sodium: 3115mg | Potassium: 919mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 69g | Vitamin A: 1290IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 536mg | Iron: 9mg
