My mother used to stuff some dressing in the turkey cavity and then make a big pan of dressing, always made with cornbread I don't cook turkey anymore, after 30 years of turkey cooking, my son has taken over the job. I used to put an onion and some celery inside the turkey for flavor I always look at the dressing as a savory bread pudding. Big difference in baking dressing inside the turkey and dressing baked in a dish: inside the turkey it is dryer and more firm. I have made cornbread dressing many times, in fact I still make it in small batches to go with smothered pork chops.
Here is my recipe for a Thanksgiving day batch. Will feed 8 to 10 people
Need to bake a pan of cornbread 1 or 2 days before (I use Martha White Corn Bread mix, one packet). Have on hand, some white bread several days old. Breads are better if toasted the day before. I use 3 or 4 parts cornbread to 1 part white bread. Dice the breads and put on a cookie and toast them in the oven at 350 degrees, stirring often, this should take about 15 minutes.
On "turkey day", make the dressing.
You will need :
The toasted bread
large onion, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
about 3 tablespoons sage
2 or 3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and add milk, enough to make a good wet mixture (3 to 4 cups) - it will dry out more as it bakes and the liquid is absorbed by the bread mixture.
Put in large baking dish that is spayed with Pam. Cover with foil and bake in 325 oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking. Remove from oven, mixture should be fairly dry, add enough turkey drippings and stock to moisten. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. return to oven and bake another 30 minutes, you can cover if you need to speed up baking, but take off cover last 10 minutes to brown a little on top.
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