- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter plus more for baking dish
- 1 pound day-old cornbread, broken into 1 1/2-inch–2-inch pieces (9 cups)
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 1 1/2 cups1/4-inch slices celery
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 cup slow-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 1 1/4 cups chopped toasted pecans (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds
of oven; preheat to 250°. Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking dish; set aside. Scatter
cornbread in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake, stirring often and
rotating sheets halfway through, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool.
Transfer to a very large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large
skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up into 1/2-inch–1-inch pieces with a
wooden spoon, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with cornbread but
do not stir.
Heat 3/4 cup butter in same skillet;
add onions and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened and just
beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to cornbread in bowl.
Return skillet to heat. Add vinegar;
cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, for 1 minute. Pour into bowl
with cornbread. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups broth, pecans, if using, parsley,
sage, rosemary, and thyme. Add salt and pepper. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk 1 1/2 cups
broth and eggs in a small bowl. Fold gently into cornbread until thoroughly
combined, taking care not to mash cornbread (mixture will look wet). Transfer
to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer
inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°, about 40 minutes.
DO
AHEAD: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Uncover; let cool. Cover and
chill.
Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and
top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes).
