Elevate Your Holiday Feast: Roasted Poblano Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
Prepare to revolutionize your holiday dining experience with a side dish that transcends the ordinary: this sensational Roasted Poblano Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing. It’s designed to be the unforgettable centerpiece of your festive table, offering a symphony of flavors that will leave a lasting impression on your guests.
This year, I decided it was time to significantly elevate my holiday culinary game. Forget the usual suspects and predictable flavors. My secret weapon? A five-word promise of pure deliciousness: Roasted Poblano Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing. This dish isn’t just an addition; it’s a declaration of a bolder, more exciting holiday season.
While Thanksgiving often calls for tradition, with its beloved yet familiar menu items (lest the family express their dismay!), Christmas provides the perfect opportunity to venture into new culinary territory. This year, I’m taking a delightful sharp left turn, injecting vibrant excitement into the holiday spread with the help of Hatfield Recipe Essentials Chorizo Ground Sausage. Its robust and aromatic profile is the ideal foundation for a dish that aims to be anything but ordinary.
My passion for chorizo runs exceptionally deep. There’s truly nothing that quite compares to its rich, bold flavor, the intoxicating warmth of its spices, and that subtle hint of smoke it imparts to any dish. It’s a pantry staple in my kitchen, always stocked in the freezer, ready to transform everything from weeknight dinners to special occasion meals. Take, for instance, Spicy Chorizo Meatballs—an absolute delight! Hatfield makes cooking with this incredible ingredient incredibly easy, thanks to their conveniently pre-ground, easy-to-open packages. This saves valuable time in the kitchen, allowing you to focus on developing those incredible flavors.
This Roasted Poblano Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing is far from your average holiday side dish. And why should it be? The holidays are a time for celebration, for indulgence, and for creating truly memorable culinary experiences. We deserve to treat ourselves and our loved ones to something exceptionally special, something that stands out and truly impresses.
The magic of this stuffing lies in its carefully curated components. We start with homemade cornbread, baked to perfection and then transformed into rustic croutons that absorb all the wonderful savory liquids without losing their delightful texture. These golden nuggets are then combined with the vibrant, spicy notes of Hatfield’s chorizo, which lends its characteristic deep flavor and warmth. Roasted poblano peppers are a key element, adding a beautiful smokiness and a mild, earthy heat that complements the chorizo perfectly. A medley of warm herbs and spices further enhances the depth of flavor, creating an aromatic foundation for the entire dish. The harmonious mixture is then baked until it achieves a glorious golden-brown crust, wonderfully toasty on the outside, while remaining moist and flavorful within.
The culinary journey of this stuffing is truly remarkable. Each bite delivers a delightful interplay of textures and tastes: the tender, absorbent cornbread, the savory and slightly spicy chorizo, the subtly smoky roasted poblano, and the aromatic embrace of the herbs. Your guests will be absolutely captivated by the sophisticated combination of sweet and smoky notes, a testament to the thoughtful balance of ingredients. Trust me, they’ll be clamoring for second and even third helpings, eager to savor every last forkful of this extraordinary dish. This isn’t just stuffing; it’s a conversation starter, a culinary triumph that will make your holiday meal truly unforgettable.
Crafting this stuffing is a rewarding experience, transforming simple ingredients into a gourmet side dish that feels both comforting and adventurous. The process, from baking the cornbread to roasting the poblanos and sautéing the chorizo, is straightforward and enjoyable, leading to a spectacular result that will impress even the most discerning palates. Get ready to embark on a flavor journey that promises to make your holiday table shine brighter than ever before.
Roasted Poblano Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
Yield: 8 servings
Total Time: 3 hours
Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Cornbread
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Stuffing
- 4 poblano peppers
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 (16-ounce) package Hatfield Recipe Essentials Chorizo Ground Sausage
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 and 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 large egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
- 2 scallions, chopped
Directions:
Cornbread
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and granulated sugar, whisking until thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the buttermilk, then add the eggs and whisk until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- To the wet ingredients, add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk gently until the batter is smooth, ensuring there are no large lumps (a few small lumps are perfectly fine). Pour the prepared batter evenly into the greased baking pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cornbread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before proceeding.
Stuffing
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange the poblano peppers on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with canola oil and season generously with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Roast the peppers for 35-40 minutes, turning them over halfway through to ensure even cooking, until they are visibly soft and their skins are slightly charred. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the peppers to steam for 10 minutes; this helps loosen their skins. Once cooled slightly, carefully peel off the charred skin, remove the seeds, and roughly chop the peppers. Transfer the chopped poblanos to a large mixing bowl.
- Once the cornbread has cooled, remove it from the pan and cut it into uniform 1-inch cubes. Spread the cornbread cubes evenly on a large baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning the cubes over halfway through the baking time, until they are beautifully golden brown and toasted. Allow the toasted cornbread croutons to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- While the peppers and cornbread are cooking, heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the Hatfield ground chorizo and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until it is thoroughly browned and no longer pink, which typically takes about 7-8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked chorizo to the large bowl containing the chopped roasted peppers, leaving the rendered chorizo drippings in the skillet.
- To the same skillet with the reserved drippings, add the unsalted butter. Once the butter has melted, add the diced onion and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and become translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the cooked onion, celery, and garlic mixture to the bowl with the chorizo and peppers.
- Add the Mexican oregano, ground coriander, ground cumin, and smoked paprika to the bowl with the chorizo and vegetables. Gently stir all the ingredients together to ensure they are well combined and the spices are evenly distributed.
- In a large measuring cup or separate bowl, combine the chicken stock and the large egg. Whisk vigorously until the egg is fully incorporated into the stock.
- Gently fold the cooled cornbread croutons into the large bowl with the chorizo and vegetable mixture. Drizzle the chicken stock and egg mixture evenly over the cornbread. Fold gently to combine, making sure the cornbread cubes are adequately moistened without becoming mushy. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer the entire stuffing mixture into a large casserole dish or a sturdy cast iron pan. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy. Garnish generously with freshly chopped scallions and cilantro before serving immediately. Enjoy this exceptional holiday stuffing!
All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.
Disclosure: This recipe was lovingly developed for the wonderful folks at Hatfield. Rest assured, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own, reflecting my genuine enthusiasm for their products. Thank you for continuing to support my recipes and this site while I have the privilege of collaborating with brands I genuinely adore and believe in.