Recipes

Cornbread Stuffing

Chef Angel Baretto’s favorite holiday dish is cornbread stuffing, so he gave us his favorite recipe, too.

By Angel Baretto
Nov 12, 2021
Jump to the Recipe
45 Minutes
4 - 6 Servings
Easy

“My mom’s cornbread stuffing is iconic,” says Chef Angel Baretto of Anju, who just won Food & Wine Best New Chef of 2021.

Chef Angel says that growing up, his family was very traditional. They’d have the traditional turkey and mashed potatoes and he loved it. Growing up as a military family, they’d move every two to three years, and so spending time during the holidays and having meals together was something they could always count on.

But if he had to pick one dish that brings him right back to the familiarity, the nostalgia, it’d be this one.

To make it, his mom bakes her own cornbread, poaches chicken and makes her own stock, pulling the meat and gizzards out. The stock gets folded into the stuffing, homogenizing the cornbread, which adds a touch of sweetness. Yes, it’s better than using white bread.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love turkey, but this stuffing, well, it’s just, the perfect side.”

Cornbread Stuffing

Chef Angel Baretto’s favorite holiday dish is cornbread stuffing, so he gave us his favorite recipe, too.

Angel Baretto

45 Minutes
4 - 6 Servings
Easy
Ingredients
  • For the Broth
  • 1 package of chicken gizzards
  • 4 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 tablespoon chicken bouilon
  • 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • For the Stuffing
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup diced celery
  • 1 box of cornbread, ideally homemade and a day old
  • Reserved chicken
  • Reserved chicken gizzards
  • 1 cup reserved broth
  • Kosher salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, to taste.
Instructions
    1.

    Combine all broth ingredients in a Stock Pot and boil for 30 minutes.

    2.

    Let it cool and strain the broth.  Set aside the broth.

    3.

    Remove the chicken from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the gizzards in half. Set aside.

    4.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

    5.

    Sauté the vegetables in olive oil in a Sauté Pan over medium heat for 3 minutes. Set aside.

    6.

    In a large bowl, crumble the cornbread and add the chicken, gizzards, and sautéed vegetables.

    7.

    Add 1 cup of your reserved broth to the mixture, and add more as needed to make the mixture moist.

    8.

    Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste.

    9.

    Add to a Baking Dish and bake for 30 minutes.

    10.

    Let cool and enjoy.