Family Recipes by Revolution Barbecue, Polidori Sausage, Pork, Recipes, Recipes by Glenn Connaughton
Cherished Heirloom: Vida’s Holiday Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
During the holiday season, our home brims with the comforting aroma of my wife wife Vida’s cherished cornbread chorizo stuffing—a recipe that has become an emblem of our family gatherings. For years, she has lovingly prepared this dish, drawing inspiration from her treasured memories of her mother Elvira’s festive spreads during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our children eagerly anticipate its arrival each year, their excitement mirroring Vida’s nostalgia.
Recently, I had the joy of documenting this culinary tradition—a task long overdue. Witnessing our children, now grown, actively participating and adding their own adaptations to this time-honored recipe has been a heartwarming sight. This dish has seamlessly woven itself into our family tapestry, evolving with each generation while preserving the essence of familial warmth and togetherness. Elvira’s legacy lives on through this recipe, not just in flavor, but in the joy and unity it brings to our holiday table year after year.
Recipe by Glenn Connaughton. Read more about Glenn here.
Vida’s Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Polidori bulk chorizo sausage
For the cornbread:
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
For the stuffing:
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 jalapeño membrane and seeds removed, diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 small white onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cup cotija cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (218ºC).
- In a medium bowl, mix together all the cornbread ingredients: yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, whole milk, beaten egg, and neutral oil until well combined.
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan and pour the cornbread mixture into it. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Once baked, set the cornbread aside to cool.
- In a medium sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of neutral oil over medium heat. Add the diced carrot, jalapeño, celery, red bell pepper, white onion, garlic, black pepper, and kosher salt. Sauté the vegetables until the onions become translucent. Remove the cooked vegetables from the pan and set them aside.
- In the same pan, add the Polidori sausage. Sauté it over medium heat, breaking up the sausage with a spatula as it cooks. Once the chorizo is fully cooked, remove it from the heat and combine it with the sautéed vegetables.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (177ºC).
- Remove the baked cornbread from the pan and grease the same pan with butter. Break the cornbread into 1-inch pieces using your hands and add them to the cooked sausage and vegetable mixture. Gently combine the ingredients until fully mixed.
- Gradually add the chicken stock to the stuffing mixture, a little at a time, and gently mix. Ensure the cornbread mix is moist but not overly wet.
- Transfer the stuffing mixture back into the greased 9×13 baking pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake the stuffing, uncovered, in the preheated oven at 350ºF (177ºC) for about 20 minutes or until it’s heated through and the top is lightly golden.
- Once done, remove the stuffing from the oven, top with the optional cotija cheese, and serve warm as a delicious side dish.