Biscuit, Cornbread & Chestnut Stuffing 


Market Salamander 
Middleburg, VA
Chef de cuisine Vaughn Skaggs uses leftover bread and biscuits, but you can save time by buying good-quality biscuits and cornbread. Drying the bread enables it to absorb the aromatic vegetables and turkey stock. He advises home cooks to make the dressing on the side, since thoroughly cooking the dressing results in a dry turkey.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Download the recipe

• 1 pound biscuits (12–15 normal-sized biscuits)
• 1 pound cornbread (9-by-12-inch pan)
• Thick-cut bacon slices, chopped into 
    ¼-inch pieces, enough for ½ cup 
    (about 4 slices)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, diced small
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced small
• 1 leek, diced small
• ¼ cup chestnuts, diced small
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, 
    stripped from stem
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup turkey giblets, chopped
• 2 quarts turkey stock

Pull the biscuits apart in big pieces. Dice the cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Let dry, uncovered, for several hours or toast in the oven until dry.

In skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and reserve, leaving half the fat in the pan.

Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the pan with the bacon fat and sauté the onion, garlic, and leek until tender. Add the chestnuts in the last couple of minutes. Add the herbs, bacon, and giblets. Remove from heat.

Put dried cornbread and biscuit pieces in a large bowl and add the contents of the pan. Toss quickly to mix, without breaking up the bread pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Slowly drizzle in turkey stock and mix carefully. After the bread has soaked up the stock, place the dressing in a casserole dish. Chop the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.