Lolly's Chicken & Cornbread Dressing

Each time I make dressing I change it slightly.  This time, I think I've found the Magic Method.  The following ingredient amounts will be make two 9 x 13 pans of dressing.  The amounts can easily be halved. I'm not a huge fan of celery, so I skimp on it a bit.  If you enjoy it, feel free to increase the amount.  Cooking your hens for the broth is essential.  The richer and more flavorful the broth, the tastier your dressing will be.

I made four skillets of cornbread for this amount.  This year one of the differences I made was to process the cooled cornbread in the food processor until I had coarse crumbs.  This allowed the cornbread to dry out overnight much easier.  The drier the crumbs, the more of the broth they will soak up to keep your dressing moist.

Follow this link for my cornbread recipe.

So first step is to make the cornbread a day before if possible, let it cool and either crumble it yourself and spread it out on a baking sheet to dry out or process it in the food processor.  See how pretty?

Now we'll make the dressing:

2 small hens

3 bouillon cubes

1/2 stick butter

2 yellow onions, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 T. butter

12 - 14 cups of chicken broth (you'll make this by cooking the hens)

1 t. celery salt

1 t. freshly cracked black pepper

1 t. dried sage

1 T. poultry seasoning

4 eggs, lightly beaten 

In a large Dutch oven or pot, place the hens and cover with water.  Bring the water to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.  Skim off any residue which rises to the top of the water.  Add bouillon cubes and butter and let simmer for an hour or so until chicken is cooked through.

When chickens are cooked, remove from broth and allow to cool.  When cool enough to handle, remove chicken from bones and discard skin and bones.

While the chickens are cooking, melt 2 T. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and celery and saute' until vegetables are translucent. 

Add onions, celery and chicken to the cornbread crumbles.

Slowly add chicken broth a cup at a time, allowing the cornbread time to absorb the broth.  Continue until all the broth is incorporated stirring well after each cupful is added.

Add the seasonings and taste.  Add more salt/pepper if needed and additional sage or poultry seasoning if desired.

Mix in beaten eggs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon dressing into lightly greased baking pan(s).  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Remove foil and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes until dressing is browned.