Jason’s Kickin Cornbread Stuffing

This is a really tasty Cornbread based stuffing with Andouille sausage, dried cranberries, and walnuts.

2 loafs of cornbread
1 lb andouille sausage
2 cups Craisins or dried cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey stock
1 medium onion
4 celery stalks
Tbsp chopped garlic
tsp Pepper
Pinch Salt

Cut cornbread into 1″ cubes. Dry in 200 degree oven for 1-1.5 hours (or let sit out for a day or two). Chop andouille sausage into bite size pieces. Chop onion and celery.

Preheat oven to 350
Place onion and celery in medium sauce pan with tblspoon of oil. Cook over medium high heat until tender. Reduce heat to medium and add stock until boiling. Reduce heat to simmer, add garlic, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Add Craisins or dried cranberry. Simmer 5 minutes.

Place cornbread into 13×9″ pan. Add andouille sausage and walnuts. Pour stock & vegetables over top. Mix gently.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove, stir gently, if still soggy in the center put back in over for another 30 minutes.

I used spicy andouille sausage and the kick from the sausage was a great balance for the cornbread and craisins.

Smoked Pork Butt

We’re having my wife’s family over for the Superbowl so I decided that a 5 lb smoked pork shoulder would be a perfect pre-game dinner.

Picked up the butt from the butcher on Saturday. Rubbed in my special rub and wrapped back up tight and placed in the fridge by 2PM on Saturday.

Sunday morning:

8AM – Remove butt from fridge to rest on counter.
Soak applewood chips in water
Fire up smoker
8:30AM – Place wood chips in smoker tray.
Add butt to smoker

Beef Stew

2 lbs Stew Meat

3 strips thick cut bacon

6 large potatoes cut into 1″ cubes (I use Idaho Russets – the starch helps thicken the stew)

18 baby carrots or carrots sliced into equal bite size pieces

1 medium onion

8 oz can tomato paste

2 cups low sodium beef stock (chicken stock or veggie stock will work fine)

1 cup quality red wine

Preheat oven to 300.

Cut bacon into 1/2 strips, fry in heavy pan, remove when browned – SAVE

Season beef with Pepper, Garlic Powder, Emeril’s Seasoning.  Sear beef over medium high heat in bacon fat in batches.  Last batch add 1/2 to 1 cup of good red wine to deglaze.  Place seared beef in tin foil pouch, pour remaining sauce / frond into pouch.  Seal tightly – I used 5 large pieces of foil and ended up with a foil burrito.

Place pouch of beef into oven on pan.  Braise in oven for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Remove pouch, poke a hole and drain juice into round heat proof container.  Cover juice and place in refrigerator.  Let sit in fridge for 1 hour.  Leave beef pouch out at room temp during the hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Remove cold juice, you should have a “puck” of fat that has congealed on the top of the container.   Remove, and cut 1/4 of fat add to heavy pan.   Save remaining fat for other uses.  Add sliced onion to hot fat and saute for 3 minute until translucent.

Add potatoes to dutch oven, add onions, season.  Add carrots.  Add remaining beef sauce.  Add beef.  Add tomato paste.  Add diced potatoes.   Add reserved bacon bits.  Add beef stock.  Stir to mix well.  Place lid on dutch oven (if lid fits loosely, cover dutch oven with tin foil first and then place lid on top) and place in center of oven for 2-3 hours… until potatoes are fork tender.

Season to taste and allow to cool to serving temp.

Options:

Braise beef the day before, and keep wrapped tightly in foil after draining sauce.  Place beef in freezer over night, thaw the next day.  The freezing will help to gelatinize the connective tissues of the beef making it even more tender.

Skip the deg-lazing with wine if that’s not your thing.

Add frozen peas or other veggies.