Ingredients
5 cups crumbled Cornbread for Roasted-Garlic Stuffing
3 cups cooked Carolina Gold rice, cold
9 tablespoons butter, plus more for pan
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3/4 cup)
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
3 ribs celery, strings removed, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 pounds sweet fennel sausage, casing removed
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons finely chopped sage
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 to 4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat
3 bulbs roasted garlic
Preparation
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside. In a large bowl, combine cornbread and rice, and set aside. In a large skillet, melt 5 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add carrots, and saute until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add onion and celery, and saute until onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add green pepper, and saute 1 minute. Combine vegetables and cornbread mixture.
In same skillet, saute sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up large pieces, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage with slotted spoon; mix with cornbread mixture, along with poultry seasoning, sage, salt, and pepper. Discard rendered fat from skillet. Add stock, 1 cup at a time; mix. (You may not need all stock.) Stuffing should be well moistened.
Squeeze garlic from skins; mix gently into cornbread mixture; keep them whole. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter; drizzle over top of stuffing. Bake until top is golden and stuffing is heated through, 45 to 50 minutes. To reheat, bring to room temperature, and cover; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove cover; bake until heated through, about 10 minutes more.
