Cast Iron

Southern Chicken Dressing

by:
November 15, 2012
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 15
Author Notes

This was my grandma's recipe which was handed down from her mother. Growing up, I watched her make it for us in a large roasting pan. Grandma was a school lunch lady, so she cooked enough for an army. After she passed away, it was up to me to make the dressings for the Holidays.
Our family likes dressing moist, so if you enjoy yours drier, feel free to add less chicken broth and you may want to cook your dressing longer. Also, this recipe calls for cornbread. I added my simple recipe that doesn't call for much sugar. A sugary cornbread would not taste good. My grandma was the one who decided to put chicken in the dressing. I doubt no one knows the difference. The price for turkey breasts were high compared to chicken pieces. I first used chicken breasts but found that chicken thighs turn out juicier when baked. I added more chicken broth and spices than you may need. I would hate for anyone to run out, especially on the morning of a holiday. Also, the bread and cornbread can be crumbled the day ahead as well as the eggs, chicken, onions and celery. —chrissyb

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Cornbread
  • 2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup self rising flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 3-4 tablespoons bacon grease to oil the bottom of skillet
  • Southern Chicken Dressing
  • 1 pan of cornbread
  • 1 loaf of stale Italian bread
  • 2 hard boiled eggs
  • 1 raw egg
  • 4 cups cooked chicken thighs cut into rough cubes
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 3-5 teaspoons ground sage
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground salt
  • 3-4 14 ounce cans of chicken broth
Directions
  1. Cornbread
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  3. Grease bottom of a cast iron skillet with the bacon grease. Set aside.
  4. Mix dry ingredients together.
  5. Add the oil, egg and milk to the dry ingredients in the bowl. With a hand mixer, combine all ingredients until the batter is smooth.
  6. Spoon the batter in the cast iron skillet.
  7. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  1. Southern Chicken Dressing
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  3. Boil 1 cup onions and celery until soft and translucent. Strain the water and set the celery and onions aside in a small bowl.
  4. Boil 2 eggs. After boiling, cool and peel. Slice the eggs into 1/4" slices.
  5. Cut the pan of cornbread into 1/4 pieces. You might not use all of the pieces. Crumble enough cornbread where it will fill half of a 12" by 9" small roasting pan.
  6. Tear apart pieces of the stale Italian bread so they are roughly the size of peas. Full the rest of the roasting pan with the bread. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a large spoon.
  7. Add the chicken meat, celery, onions, and sliced eggs to the cornbread/bread mixture. Mix thoroughly.
  8. Add 1 can of chicken broth, stir and add another can of chicken broth. If the dressing isn't as moist as you'd like, add more chicken broth.
  9. Add rage sage, salt and black pepper. Stir well.
  10. Stir in 1 raw egg into the dressing and stir.
  11. Place the pan in the preheated oven.
  12. Take out the dressing every 30 minutes and scrape the dry sides, so that all areas are cooked. If you like your dressing moist, cook 45-60 minutes or dry for 1 hour to 2 hours.
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