cornbread and sausage dressing

Cornbread and Sausage Dressing

Ingredients

• 16 tbsp butter 

• 3 medium onions peeled and finely chopped

• 1/2 head of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 tbsp finely chopped sage

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 lb pork sausage

• 6 cups crumbled corn bread

• 1/2 bunch parsley, trimmed and finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of bual, malmsey or other sweet madiera wine

• 2-4 cups of chicken broth –enough to make dressing a little soupy.

Preparation

1. If cooking now go ahead and preheat oven to 350. We usually fix this a day or two ahead then cook it on Thanksgiving. It keeps fine for a couple of days, covered in the fridge and it allows for the flavors to mix in. If you intend to cook the following day you can add more broth as needed. 

2. Melt butter in large, heavy bottom skillet over med-low heat.

3. Add onions and cook without browning, stirring often, until soft about 20 minutes over low heat.

4. Add celery, sage and rosemary, then generously season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to large mixing bowl.

5. In the same skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking up the meat until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage to the onion celery mixture, Add cornbread, parsley ,broth and madeira, adjust seasonings and mix well.

6. We usually cook this in a large pyrex but it can also be stuffed into the turkey, trussed and baked. if using a pan butter the pan  and bake until hot and golden on top about 30 minutes.

  Jeffrey Cowgill 2017 (updated 2026)