Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or bacon fat,1 1/4 cups stone-ground white cornmeal,1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour,2 tablespoons sugar,1/2 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon baking powder,1/2 teaspoon salt,teaspoon baking soda,1 1/2 cups buttermilk at room temperature,1 extra-large egg at room temperature,3/4 stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted,2 packages Isernio’s Breakfast Sausage,Bacon fat,2 tablespoons unsalted butter,3/4 pound chorizo, casings removed, coarsely chopped,1 small onion, finely chopped,2 smalls celery ribs, finely chopped,Salt and freshly ground pepper,2 large eggs,1 1/4 cups chicken or turkey stock or canned low-sodium broth,cup mayonnaise,1/2 cup dijon mustard,1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley,1 tablespoon finely chopped rinsed capers,4 bunches large collard leaves – the larger the better,3 cups chicken or turkey stock for blanching
Instructions:
- Make the Cornbread
- Preheat the oven to 42
- Position the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Pour the oil/fat into an 8-by-8-inch pyrex baking dish and heat in the oven. In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal with the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, add the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended; do not overmix.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and swirl to coat with the oil. Scrape the batter into the hot dish and
- Brown the Sausage: In a large skillet, working in batches, thoroughly brown the sausages in a little bacon fat over medium-high heat.
- Let the sausages sit in one place long enough to get nice and brown. Turn so that all sides are evenly browned.
- Remove to a rack and cool thoroughly.
- Make the Stuffing: Melt the butter in a large skillet.
- Add the chorizo and cook over moderately low heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Let cool completely. Scrape the corn bread into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the stock and pour over the stuffing; mix well.
- Note: after finishing this entire recipe you will probably have stuffing left over. To use it up, butter a shallow baking dish, fill with stuffing mixture, cover and
- Prep the Collard Leaves. 4 Bunches large collard leaves the larger the better. This is approximate. You need enough leaves to wrap 20 sausages. If a leaf is really large, it can wrap two sausages. If the leaf is smaller, it will only wrap one sausage.
- Wash the leaves in cold water. Using a small paring knife, trim the large center vein from each leaf, effectively cutting it in half length-wise.
- Heat the stock to a low simmer (not a boil) in a large heavy pot. If your stock is completely de-fatted, add a little bacon fat, butter or oil to the stock. This adds a nice sheen to the leaves and keeps them from sticking together after theyre cooked.
- Working in batches, submerge the leaves completely in the hot stock for 1 minutes per batch. The stock should be very hot, but not boiling.
- Remove to a wire rack and immediately shock in cold water to arrest the cooking. (I just rinsed them with my sink sprayer.)
