With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we’re kicking off our annual series of chef’s holiday recipes. So to get us in the mood, we started with what’s arguably our favoriate Thanksgiving side: the stuffing (or dressing, depending on what you like to call it). This comes from Sweetwater’s Trey Davis. Down South, crawfish and cornbread are two staples in Cajun cooking. Here is a recipe that combines the best of both worlds.
Davis said that at his house, this dressing is served with all the fixins’ alongside turducken, with turducken gravy poured across the dressing.
He suggests baking your cornbread the day before Thanksgiving and leaving it unwrapped to dry out. Find crawfish and andouille at Cajungrocery.com, or substitute with shrimp and a garlic Italian sausage. “Please, for your sake, do not use the foreign crawfish that most grocery stores use as it will ruin your dish; not even close to the same product,” he said.
Recipe: Granny’s Crawfish and Andouille Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 3, 9-inch Pyrex baking dishes with cornbread
- 4 pounds crawfish tail meat
- 3 pounds andouille sausage
- 1 bunch celery (chopped)
- 2 yellow onions (chopped)
- 3 green bell peppers (chopped)
- 3 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 3 teaspoons chopped sage
- 1 gallon rich beef stock
- 3-4 teaspoons of creole seasoning
- 1 dozen eggs
Instructions
- In a large pot, slowly brown the chopped andouille sausage for about 15 minutes. Add the creole seasoning, celery, onion and peppers and continue slowly for 10 minutes until wilted and browned. Add garlic and sage, and continue for another 3 minutes.
- Add the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. If using stock from a box, you might have to add beef base or bouillon, which you can get in the store. You want it to be really rich and almost salty. When you make the dressing, the cornbread will soak up the salt.
- Add your crawfish meat to the liquid, and let cool to the touch.
- In a large mixing bowl, crumble your cornbread, and start adding your andouille and crawfish mix. You want it to be kinda of runny but not soupy. It still needs to have body to it. Taste to make sure it is seasoned to your liking. (I usually add cayenne and hot sauce, but I like it spicy!)
- Add your 12 eggs that have been beaten. Work in well.
- Pour into buttered Pyrex dishes and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes and check. If a toothpick comes out clean, then it’s done. Usually takes another 20 minutes in my oven. When toothpick is clean, remove and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
