Slow Cooker Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Last week we brought you a classic Onion Velouté as a simple start to dining for the holiday season. Since the turkey alone takes up almost the entire oven, with perhaps a little space left over for a sweet potato bake, we’re making the most of our slow cooker for the all important dressing / stuffing this week.

Having made a variety of recipes in the slow cooker I identified the 5 key steps to preparation: 

1. Fat = Flavor Meat isn’t mandatory in dressing but the fat delivers flavor. Brown the sausage or bacon/pancetta and soften the vegetable base in the resulting melted fat. For a vegetarian alternative use dried porcini mushrooms. 
2. Stale Bread Cube or tear the bread and dry it out overnight for optimum absorbance.
3. Vegetables & Aromatics celery, garlic and onion with herbs and spices are central to layering the flavors.
4. Liquid For a desirable and moist dressing choose a good chicken or vegetable broth. The bread must be moist but not submerged in liquid. My favorite is Trader Joe’s organic chicken broth (low sodium version available also)
5. Balance, Freshness & Texture If your dressing is on the sweet side, add in tart apples or cranberries, use fresh green herbs and reserve toasted pecans for sprinkling before serving to add freshness and crunch.

Armed with a Southwest theme and a more traditional herb and nut based recipe, I set about developing two dressings from scratch. The chorizo and cornbread is spicy, with a meaty flavor and a crumb-like texture. The apple and pancetta is soft, subtly savory with herbs and a tart finish.

Chorizo & Cornbread Stuffing

2016-11-15 10:34:07

Prep Time: 15m Cook Time: 4 hours LOW / 2 hours HIGH Servings: 8

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Ingredients

1. 8oz chorizo sausage, casing removed
2. 1 1/2 cups / 1 medium onion, diced
3. 1/2 cup / 1 medium carrot, diced
4. 1/2 cup / 1 medium celery stalk, diced
5. 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
6. 1 chipotle chile in adobo *optional
7. 1/2 cup frozen corn
8. 5 cups cornbread, large crumbs
9. 1 1/2 cups / 12 fl oz chicken broth

Instructions

1. in a medium saucepan add the chorizo and cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat
2. break up the chorizo into large chunks and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and chipotle chili to the saucepan
3. soften the onion mixture in the chorizo for a further 4 minutes
4. transfer the mixture to the slow cooker
5. stir the corn and cornbread into the mixture in the slow cooker
6. stir the broth into the mixture and ensure that all the cornbread is moistened
7. cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours

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Apple, Pancetta & Pecan Stuffing

2016-11-15 11:26:17

Prep Time: 15m, Cook Time: 4 hours LOW / 2 hours HIGH, Servings: 8

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Ingredients

1. 1 tbsp olive oil
2. 2 oz pancetta, cubed
3. 1 1/2 cups / 1 medium onion, diced
4. 1/2 cup / 1 medium celery stalk, diced
5. 2 tsp / 4 cloves garlic, minced
6. 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
7. 1/2 tsp thyme, dried
8. 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
9. 1 1/2 cups / 1 large Granny Smith apple, diced
10. 1 cup / 4 oz Pecan pieces
11. 5 cups stale sourdough bread, 1" cubes
12. 2 cups chicken broth

Instructions

1. in a medium saucepan over a medium heat add the oil and pancetta & sauté for 2 minutes
2. add the onion, celery and garlic to the pancetta and soften for a further 3 minutes
3. stir in the oregano, thyme and black pepper and transfer the mixture to the slow cooker
4. add the apple, pecans and bread to the slow cooker
5. stir the broth into the mixture and ensure that all the bread is moistened
6. cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours

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