Chicken and Dressing A

A different take on Chicken and Dressing
I think I wrote in my first Jackson Jambalaya post how great the Sunday dinners were when we visited
my grandparent’s Beasley Bayou farm house, west of Isola, back in the 1950’s. One of my fondest
Sunday dinner memories was my Grandmother’s insistence that Sunday dinner should include a pan of
chicken and cornbread dressing. It was a dish she always cooked in a blue and white speckled enameled
pan. You may have a similar memory rooted in your past. My Grandmother’s chicken and dressing
memory looks like this.
I understand I was blessed to be part of a good family made up of hard working folk, enjoying good food,
good times, and making good memories. My grandparents certainly weren’t the best off financially, but
they generated lots of good experiences for their nine children and more cousins than I can count.
Today, I’ll share a more modern version of my granny’s dinner offering. If you try it, you might come up
with a new memory to offer your descendents. This recipe combines ground chicken and cornbread
dressing formed into meatballs, covered in chicken gravy, and served as part of a tasty meal, containing
both old-time and modern elements. In my opinion, it is suitable for the dinner table any night of the
week. This one is my recipe but if you want to claim it as your own I would have no problem.
Chicken and Dressing Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken - You could substitute ground turkey if you like
1/2 cup cornbread hoecake, broken into smallish pieces
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (a modern addition)
1/4 cup craisins (another modern addition)
1 egg
Chicken broth, as needed for meatball mixture and gravy
salt, sage, black pepper, and red pepper flakes
Not shown:
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon AP Flour
1 Tablespoon corn starch
Directions:
Cook the cornbread you will use to make the dressing. I made skillet fried hoecakes for my dish.
Start with 1/2 cup self rising cornmeal, slightly less self rising flour, salt, and enough buttermilk to make
a thick batter, then skillet fry the batter into tasty hoecake pones.
You will use two of these in the recipe and eat the rest when no one is looking.
Chop the celery, onion, pecans, craisins, and break your cornbread into small pieces then add the
ingredients to a mixing bowl with an egg. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2
teaspoon sage, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
For some reason I make no attempt to understand, there are folks who say they don’t like craisins. The
thing is, craisins give the finished meatball a nice hint of cranberry sauce flavor. In my opinion, they are a
really tasty addition to the dish. I guess you could substitute dried cherries, chopped apricots, or bits of
dried apple for the craisins, but the taste would not be like having cranberry sauce cooked into your
chicken and dressing meatball.
As far as the pecans go, they are just a nice crunchy nut addition to the meal that makes you think you
are eating “Fancy Holiday Food”.
Add enough chicken broth to make a thick, chunky chicken and dressing mixture then mix everything
well and scoop out ping pong ball sized portions to make the meatballs.
I cooked my meatballs on a grilling pan in the oven at 350 degrees F until done. The missing place where
a meatball belongs in the next photo is a sample I took to make sure they were as good as they looked.
Time to make the gravy. First off, I know how to make giblet gravy.
Sadly you get no giblets when you buy ground chicken, which makes giblet gravy difficult. In the past, I
have been guilty of going to the gas station down the street and buying a few fried gizzards and livers to
use in my giblet gravy when I could do no better. They work fine, but most gas stations do not sell
chicken necks, which are a requirement in my giblet gravy. This is how I made a gravy for this dish.
Start with one Tablespoon butter, melted in sauté pan then add 2 Tablespoons celery, onion a little salt,
black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until vegetables are tender.
Add 1 Tablespoon of AP flour and cook for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour.
Then add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to make gravy.
I eventually added 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch mixed in a slurry of cold water to help thicken the gravy.
The completed meatballs and gravy were served with steamed carrots and broccoli cuts.
Two more photos.
Chicken and Dressing Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 Pound ground chicken

1/2 cup cornbread hoecake, broken into smallish pieces (see ingredients below)
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup craisins
1 egg
Chicken broth, as needed for meatball mixture and gravy
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon AP flour
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
salt, sage, black pepper, and red pepper flakes
Cornbread hoecakes:
1/2 cup self rising cornmeal
slightly less self rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Enough buttermilk to make a pancake thick batter
skillet fry the batter into hoecake pones.
Directions:
Cook cornbread, I made batter fried Hoecakes, With 1/2 cup self rising cornmeal, slightly less self rising
flour, salt, and enough buttermilk to make a slightly thick batter. Chop celery, onion, pecans, craisins,
and break cornbread into small pieces.
Add ingredients to a mixing bowl with an egg. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper,
1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Add enough chicken broth to make a thick,
chunky chicken and dressing mixture.
Mix everything well and scoop out ping pong ball sized portions to make the meatballs. Cook the
meatballs in oven at 350 degrees F until done.
To make sauce/gravy, start with one Tablespoon butter, melted in sauté pan. Add 2 Tablespoons celery,
onion a little salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until vegetables are tender.
Add a Tablespoon of AP flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and reduce to
make gravy. I added 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken the gravy.
Served with steamed carrots and broccoli cuts.

Chicken and Dressing A

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Chicken and Dressing A

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A different take on Chicken and Dressing

1 Pound ground chicken

Served with steamed carrots and broccoli cuts.

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