Paul Prudhomme's Cornbread Dressing

Source: chefpaul.com

This cornbread dressing recipe from Paul Prudhomme’s website is a variation of the cookbook version Group Editor Kelly Killian’s family uses.

Steps

1. Process the eggs and milk together in a blender at medium speed until fully combined, about 20 seconds. Set aside.
2. Spread the crumbled cornbread on a sheet pan and bake in a 300°F oven until the crumbs are dry and a touch of brown is showing on the larger pieces, about 30 minutes.
3. In a 5-quart pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter together with the bay leaves. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are beginning to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, celery, garlic, poultry seasoning and pepper sauce. Cook, stirring and scraping frequently, until the onions are beginning to brown and the celery and bell peppers are faded in color, about 4 minutes. Add the giblets. Stir until the giblets are fully cooked, but not browned, and the seasoning has a rich flavor, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and remove from the heat. Stir well until butter is melted. Remove bay leaves.
4. Put the baked crumbled cornbread in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the milk/egg mixture, then fold in the vegetable mixture until evenly mixed.
5. Spread the dressing on a sheet pan as thinly as possible. Refrigerate sheet pan in the coldest part of the refrigerator until dressing is very cold. (Note: The goal is to chill the dressing as quickly as possible. Spreading the dressing in a thin layer on a sheet pan allows it to cool very quickly. In our refrigerator, this took a little over 1 hour). Bake at 350 F until browned on top.