Kickass Mexican Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
We’re eating Mexican chorizo cornbread stuffing filled with sweet white corn kernels, roasted poblano & jalapeno peppers, cilantro and roasted garlic.
You can’t have a holiday meal without the stuffing (or dressing depending on your semantics of choice)! At least that’s my opinion. Since I wanted to play with the Mexican theme and I knew I had the frozen mole I made earlier this year, what I really wanted to do was create a cornbread dressing that, when eaten with the turkey and the mole, would remind you of a tamale. It utterly delighted me when Justin said (without me prompting!) that it reminded him of tamales! YAY! Success! The chorizo cornbread is great without the mole since it’s choked full of delicious chorizo and fresh corn but if you’ve already gone through the trouble of making the mole you should definitely try them together.
As a side note – I have to admit to eat T & I eating a little slice of the cornbread when it was fresh out of the oven the night before so maybe to keep it legit you should “sample” a small slice of bread when it’s still warm and delicious. 😉
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 lbs fresh chorizo, casings removed
1 small yellow onion
10 cloves roasted garlic*
1 recipe basic cornbread, day old and cut in roughly 1" cubes
2 roasted poblano pepper, seeded, stemmed and diced
1 roasted jalapeno pepper, seeded, stemmed and diced
kernels from 3 ears of white corn
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
2 eggs, beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add oil to a large saute pan and place over high heat. Once the pan is hot, just before the oil starts smoking, crumble in about 1/3 of the chorizo. Allow the chorizo to brown before stirring and browning the other side, about 2 minutes per side of undisturbed cooking. Remove chorize from the pan and place on a paper towel lined place to drain. Place the pan back on the burner and repeat this process two more times with the rest of the chorizo.
Once all the chorizo has been browned pour off all excess fat from the pan. Return the pan to the stove and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the pan. Cook onion over medium heat until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally about 8 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, add the diced cornbread, browned chorizo, sauteed onion, roasted garlic, poblano & jalapeno peppers, corn kernels, cilantro, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Using your hands, toss to evenly distribute the ingredients.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and chicken stock. Add the chicken stock mixture to the cornbread mixture. Stir to evenly moisten the cornbread mixture.
Pour the cornbread mixture into a large baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and spread evenly across the dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Place into preheated 350 degree oven. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes then remove the foil. Bake for another 15-20 minutes uncovered until the top gets slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
*To roast garlic, simply place peeled cloves with a little splash of oil & a sprinkle of salt and pepper into a piece of aluminum foil and fold into a packet. Place into a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until caramelized and soft.
Yum! We’re also having chorizo/cornbread stuffing this year. Stuffing is my favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving, so I always try out new recipes. Thanks for sharing yours!
i love that your photos are extra big now! but they are making me extra hungry so early in the morning. this stuffing sounds great. i’m a big fan of cornbread stuffings as opposed to bread.
Oh my Gosh!! I am making this. What great flavors together. I am with you on having a slice of cornbread before putting the whole thing together. Love your blog!
I will be making this for mt Thanksgiving dinner. Approximately how many servings does this recipe make? Also, any tips about making some of the components ahead of time? I am so excited to try, thanks for the recipe!!
Christine – it probably makes about 12 decent sized servings. It’s pretty massive!
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I’m glad I could disguise my favorite dish (tamales) as a Thanksgiving side! I did roast the garlic and jalapeño the Mexican way–on a dry non-stick pan over medium heat with the paper still on the garlic cloves–which only takes about 10 minutes versus an hour in the oven.
Hi, I’m looking forward to making this for my Superbowl party. My Question is how many cups of cornbread do you use in the recipe? I already have cornbread and wont be making the cornbread recipe for making the stuffing. Thanks
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I’ve been telling people my whole life that stuffing isn’t stuffing it isn’t cornbread stuffing. Now I think I’m gonna have to add the word “chorizo” to that sentence. This sounds amazing. Thanksgiving here we come.
I don’t know where you are from but this is a great recipe and true “dressing” if you are from the South. I do not like “stuffing” at all but rather the casserole that isn’t cooked in the bird.
What an awesome spin on things. I’m from a huge Southern family of ladies who love to cook and have been looking for a way to put a stamp on my own dressing, since my mom and all of my aunts have their own style when making it.
What a great fusion recipe!
How many does this serve.