Get Stuffed: Emeril's Stuffing Recipes

Oct. 18, 2007 — -- Before you send Emeril Lagasse your best stuffing recipes as part of "GMA's" latest food challenge, try out some of his special cornbread concoctions below.

Click here to enter Emeril's Stuffing Showdown.

Bacon Cornbread Dressing

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

6 slices bacon, chopped

¾ cup diced onion

½ cup diced celery

½ cup diced bell pepper

6 corn muffins, crumbled

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

½ teaspoon cayenne or black pepper

1 ½ to 2 cups chicken stock or canned low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Butter for greasing baking pan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with the butter and set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy and most of the fat has rendered, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain.

Add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the crumbled corn muffins and stir to combine. Add the salt, cayenne pepper, and chicken stock and cook until liquid is nearly completely reduced, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the stuffing to a large bowl and fold in the bacon and sage. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon stuffing into the prepared baking pan and bake until golden brown on top and heated through, 30 to 40 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Emeril's Essence Seasoning

2 ½ tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's Food of Love Productions, 2007

Wild Rice and Cornbread Dressing

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's Food of Love Productions, 2007

2 ½ cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 cup wild rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

½ cup finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Basic Cornbread, recipe follows, or 4 cups crumbled leftover cornbread

¾ cup chopped toasted pecans

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking dish and set aside.

To cook rice, combine 2 cups chicken stock, water, and rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Drain rice and transfer to a large bowl.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and celery and season with salt, Essence and black pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add parsley and thyme and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and add to bowl with rice.

Add 4 cups of crumbled Basic Cornbread and pecans to the rice mixture and stir to combine. Transfer rice mixture to baking dish. Drizzle remaining ½ cup chicken stock and butter over mixture. Bake until cornbread is golden and crispy, about 20 minutes.

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's Food of Love Productions, 2007

Basic Cornbread

2 eggs

1 ½ cups buttermilk

4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, or bacon fat, plus ½ tablespoon, softened

1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with ½ tablespoon butter.

Combine eggs, buttermilk and 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda in a separate large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake until top is golden brown and edges have pulled away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

Yield: 1 9-inch cornbread

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's Food of Love Productions, 2007