Dinner: Oyster-Cornbread Stuffing

Recipe by John Currence Make or buy a savory cornbread to use in this luxurious stuffing; the kind you use will determine how much broth you'll need to moisten it.

Ingredients

2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 sprig sage plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced sage leaves
1 sprig rosemary
1 pound breakfast sausage, casings removed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
4 dozen small shucked oysters in their liquor (about 1 cup liquor)
4 large eggs, whisked
12 cups savory (not sweet) cornbread cut into 3/4" cubes, stale or toasted in a 300 ° oven until dry

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °. Combine broth, sage sprig, and rosemary sprig in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and let stock steep until ready to use.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a large bowl, leaving any rendered fat in pan.
Melt butter in skillet; add onions and celery and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add onion mixture, sliced sage, parsley, and thyme to bowl with sausage. Mix well; season with salt and pepper. Add oysters with liquor, reserved broth (sprigs removed), and eggs; toss to combine. Add cornbread; toss until well blended and cornbread absorbs most of liquid.
Spoon stuffing into a 3-quart baking dish. If any liquid remains in bowl, drizzle 1/4 to 1/2 cup over to moisten cornbread (amount varies depending on dryness of cornbread). Bake until browned and liquid is absorbed, 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes, tenting with foil if top gets too dark.

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