SHOEPEG CORN AND CRAWFISH STUFFING

Prep Time: 1½ Hours
Yields: 8 Servings

Comment:
This recipe, submitted by Melissa Anders, is a nostalgic recreation of a holiday dish her grandmother used to make, which started out by frying fresh corn in bacon drippings in a black iron skillet. I have adapted it slightly and have taken the liberty of including crawfish in my version.

Ingredients:
1 (11-ounce) can shoepeg corn
1 (20-ounce) package Southern style cream corn (yellow or white)
1 pound crawfish tails, well-drained
6 slices bacon
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
¼ cup diced green bell pepper
¼ cup minced garlic
½ cup softened butter
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 (8.5-ounce) package cornbread mix
salt and black pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste

Method:
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a sauté pan over medium heat cook bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove bacon from pan, chop and set aside. In the rendered fat, sauté onion, celery, bell peppers and minced garlic until translucent. Add crawfish and cook 3–5 minutes more then remove from heat. In a separate bowl, mix butter, sour cream and eggs. Stir in crawfish mixture, corns and cornbread mix.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. In a well-greased 12-inch cast iron skillet, sprinkle chopped bacon and spoon corn mixture on top.  Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest 5–10 minutes before serving.