Hometown Cooking with Christine Glover

The Glover’s Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole has become a family favorite for every Thanksgiving feast. We can skip a lot of the other sides, but this one is never put on the shelf. I discovered the basics for the recipe about the third time I went to cook the Big TG Day Dinner. It was part of an ad campaign for a bourbon product. Yep, my Sweet Potato Casserole’s secret ingredient is bourbon. Good ol’ southern bourbon with lots of butter, brown sugar, and other naughty-licious ingredients. Throughout the years, I’ve made this by taste and feel of the contents and I’ve tweaked it a few times to make it uniquely our dish. People asked for the recipe, but I didn’t have the original one nor could I tell anyone anything more than the ingredients. Measurements like tablespoons and cups weren’t in my vocabulary. But then my daughter requested that I decompose the recipe for her. Because one day she’ll be in charge of the big TG Day Dinner. So she and I worked together to break down the parts and determine exactly how much of every ingredient I included. Now, not going to lie, when I make it I still tweak according to taste, but if you follow this recipe I’m sure you’ll enjoy the results.

The-Glover-Family-Bourbon-Sweet-Potato-Casserole
The Glover Family’s Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients for Casserole:

6-8 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into pieces, boiled till tender
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter
1 tsp. orange zest
4 tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup bourbon
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Combine tender potatoes and all other ingredients till fully mixed and put into a greased large casserole dish (spray PAM). (Can make ahead and add topping later.) Put uncovered casserole into 350 degree oven and bake until bubbly (about 30-45 minutes). Fifteen minutes before you take casserole out, add the topping and cook uncovered.

Topping Ingredients

2 cups cornflakes
½ cup unsweetened butter
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
2-4 tbsp. bourbon (to taste)
1 tsp. orange zest
pinch of cinnamon
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice

Melt butter in large sauté pan/frying pan. Add brown sugar, OJ, zest, cinnamon, bourbon and mix till combined and sugar fully dissolved. Add cornflakes and pecan pieces, and mix till combined. Put over top of the sweet potato casserole 15 minutes before casserole is finished baking. Cook till bubbly.