Gluten-Free Stuffing or Dressing?

So, what do you call it? Is it stuffing or dressing where you come from? I remember my grandmother (Dad’s mom) calling it dressing, but my parents always called it stuffing. Does the fact that it is stuffed in the bird not change the name for you? We call it stuffing and since I am a little freakish about the stuffing being cooked in the bird, we cook it in a baking dish outside of the turkey. I know that a lot of people would call that “dressing” based on the fact that the side dish is not actually “stuffed” inside of the turkey. Semantics.

The first year that I was gluten-free we tried a stuffing made from Ener-G gluten-free bread and I was not impressed. So much so that I almost abandoned the idea of stuffing from there on out. Then I remember cornbread. Why not make cornbread stuffing? Lots of people made stuffing from cornbread and I was sure that texture would be much better than what I had experienced with the Ener-G bread. So, cornbread it was.

As suspected, the stuffing turned out amazing! Even picky, non-gluten-free family members raved about it. Score! The first year I used Gluten-Free Pantry’s Yankee Cornbread Mix. Ever since I have made my own cornbread using the recipe from the back of the Quaker Corn Meal canister.

Cornbread

**From the back of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box

***Double this for the stuffing

• 1 ¼ cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
• ¾ cup cornmeal (Used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal)
• ¼ cup sugar (1/8 cup for stuffing cornbread)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt (I omitted this b/c there is salt in Pamela’s baking mix)
• 1 cup buttermilk (the box says to use skim, I like buttermilk in my cornbread)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
• 2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten (I used the beaten egg.

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Pam 8 or 9-inch baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean. (I did 20 minutes).

The day of preparation.

Crumble the cornbread onto cookie sheets in a single layer & place in oven at 250 – 300 degrees and check frequently until it gets dried out, but not burnt. While you are doing this, you can prepare the sausage (I used Tennesee Pride Mild).

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add chopped celery & onion & cook until translucent. Add seasonings – salt, pepper & poultry seasoning to taste. My Mom is the pro at this. You can always add more, so taste as you go.

Mix bread, sausage, and butter/celery/onion mixture together in a large bowl.

You will need to add broth to moisten the stuffing before placing it in the oven. How much depends on your preference. The more, the more moister. Cover & bake at 350 – 375 for 30-40 minutes. Take the cover off for the last 10 minutes or so to crisp up the top if you like.

So, whether you call it stuffing or dressing, make sure to make enough for leftovers. There is nothing like leftovers from Thanksgiving for breakfast before heading out for a long day of shopping on Black Friday.