10724 Cornbread-, Pecan-, and Salt Pork–Stuffed Onions 1 hr 15 mins 30 mins 12 servings Fri Oct 20 12:47:00 -0700 2006 Wed Nov 04 10:28:09 -0800 2009 Medium American CHOW http://www.chow.com/recipes/10724 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:28:09 GMT Plus a kick of heat from jalapeños Plus a kick of heat from jalapeños. We know, Thanksgiving is all about the mashed potatoes and stuffing, so this recipe makes three times as much stuffing as is necessary to fill the onions. Just bake what remains in a buttered loaf pan alongside the onions. Oh, and it works well outside the Thanksgiving meal, too.

What to buy: Salt pork can be found in most grocery stores. If you have a hard time finding it, you can use bacon instead.

Game plan: For a slacker solution, start at step 4 and just make the stuffing.

This recipe was featured as part of both our Thanksgiving, Southern-Style menu and our Cooking with Winter Ingredients story.

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  • Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Slice bottoms (the root end) off onions in order to stabilize them. (Be careful not to cut a hole through the base.) Slice off top third of onions and discard. Peel onions.
  • Use a teaspoon to hollow out the onions, removing about 3/4 of the inside and leaving 2 to 3 outer layers intact. Scrape the inside of the onions as you would when making a jack-o’-lantern, so that the onion shells are an even thickness throughout. (Reserve the center of the onions for another use.)
  • Place onion shells in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish, dot with butter, and season well with freshly ground black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and place in the oven to braise, basting occasionally by spooning the liquid over the onions, until completely tender, about 40 minutes. (If making ahead, remove the onions from the baking dish, drain off liquid, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.) Set onions aside.
  • Meanwhile, make the stuffing: Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat, add salt pork, blanch for 2 minutes, drain well, and set aside. Heat a large Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid over medium heat until hot. Add blanched pork and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and jalapeño and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
  • Add pecans and toast until browned; stir in cornbread and cook another 5 minutes or until completely warmed. Season with freshly ground black pepper and add remaining chicken broth. Remove the pan from heat and mix well.
  • Divide stuffing among braised onions (fill them completely) and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. (Place remaining stuffing in a buttered loaf pan and bake alongside onions until thoroughly heated.)
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com/assets/2006/10/stuffedonion_290s210.jpg Aida Mollenkamp 51 Side Dish 54 6 large yellow onions

    ]]>     1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

    ]]>     277 Pinch cayenne pepper

    ]]>     1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth**

    ]]>     12 ounces salt pork, medium dice (about 1 cup)**

    ]]>     74 2 tablespoons minced garlic (from about 3 medium cloves)

    ]]>     2 tablespoons minced jalapeño (from about 1 small jalapeño)**

    ]]>     2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

    ]]>     9 cups cornbread, coarsely crumbled

    ]]>     219 pork 213 thanksgiving 216 holiday 261 nuts 348 southern 1046 cold weather 184 vegetables 4261 feed a crowd 2747 make ahead 1 chow 2395 aida mollenkamp 1605 dinner party 14048 winter ingredients 466 onions 14483 yellow onions