To Stuff or Not to Stuff (recipe: Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing)
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An ongoing rivalry exists between stuffing lovers and dressing lovers. Stuffing is most often associated with being stuffed in the cavity of the Thanksgiving turkey before cooking. Dressing is baked in a pan and never sees the inside of the bird and is served as a side dish throughout the year. Over the years, the name stuffing has taken on a different meaning and is used interchangeably with dressing. We need to set the record straight: stuffing is stuffed and dressing is….well….it isn’t anything. It’s baked all by itself. Southerners generally prefer dressing, typically cornbread dressing.
Dressing was created as a way to use up leftover cornbread, biscuits and bread. I store leftover pieces of bread and biscuits in the freezer to use in dressing. Some Southern cooks like to add crushed saltine crackers to dressing. If you’re making cornbread dressing, the addition of an ingredient made from wheat flour does give the dressing a nice texture and helps it bind together. I never have to use additional eggs in my dressing for a binder other than the eggs I put in the eggbread (cornbread).
I follow the method my Granny used to make dressing. My ingredient list is short just like hers. Cornbread, bread, onions, celery, stock and seasoning. She used poultry seasoning. I’ve never bought that but I’m sure it containes sage as one of the ingredients. I use fresh sage instead.
A tip for getting as much flavor in your dressing as possible is to use stale cornbread and bread. I make cornbread a day ahead. Stale bread will soak up more of the stock and bring loads of flavor into the dressing. Of course, you need to have a good quality stock. Also, after mixing in the stock, let the dressing sit for 30 minutes before baking. This gives the bread a chance to really soak up all that flavorful stock instead of having it cook out as it bakes. Plus, it gives everybody in the dressing a chance to get to know each other and come together as one.
I’ve been cooking for many years and have gone through many cooking phases including everything from hating to cook to preparing large gourmet spreads. During my gourmet cooking phase, I experimented with dressing up the dressing. I was snobbish and thought cornbread dressing was just too plain and simple. As it turns out, being plain and simple is what makes it taste so good. I’m over being snobbish about my food. I’ve come full circle back to the down home honest cooking that has fed my family for generations. I’m thankful to be back home and I won’t be straying again.
Y’all come see us!
Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing
I keep odds and ends piece of bread in the freezer for making croutons for dressing. After thawing out the bread, I cut it into cubes, drizzle over some oil and seasoning, toss well and bake at 350 until it browns. I used up all the bread I had saved. For the life of me, I can’t remember how I used it, but I hope the dish turned out well. As a substitute for homemade croutons, I like Pepperidge Farm Cubed Stuffing in either Herb or Sage and Onion flavors. Instead of croutons, you can use biscuits or saltine crackers.
1 batch Egg Bread (Southern Buttermilk Cornbread) or use your favorite recipe
6 cups croutons (I used Pepperidge Farm Cubed Stuffing Sage and Onion flavor)
3 medium sweet onions, diced
2 cups celery, diced
olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely minced
2 quarts homemade chicken/turkey stock or good quality commercially prepared
1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper
salt to taste
Tear cornbread into pieces.
Put the cornbread and croutons into large bowl. You’ll need to find a bowl bigger than your head. I have a 16 inch graniteware bowl that is perfect for making dressing.
Cook onions and celery in olive oil until tender. Add to bowl along with sage.
Add stock and stir well. Add one teaspoon of black pepper, stir and adjust as needed. I rarely need to add additional salt. Let dressing sit for 30 minutes to absorb all the liquid. Stir and pour into greased baking pans. I used 2 (8 x 8) aluminum pans instead of 1 (9 x 13) pan because I want to freeze the dressing for use at a later date. One 8 x 8 pan fits nicely inside a gallon freezer bag for storage. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top has browned.
Serve with Giblet Gravy.
You might also enjoy:
Upside Down, Inside, Outside Turkey.
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Thank you Jackie for this recipe.
Finding the Pepridge Farm cubed stuffing mix around here is like hen’s teeth.
All I can find is the crumbs.
Do you think it would matter in the taste?
I’m thinking the amount of broth would need to be adjusted.
Barbara,
I think you are right on target, it what I think! The breadcrumbs wouldn’t effect the taste at all but you’re right about adjusting the stock. You might want to use less then the 6 cups that I used in the recipe. Another suggestion is to use salad croutons. That’s all in the world the Pepperidge Farm stuffing is. Or, just cube up bread, sprinkle on some oil and whatever seasoning you like an toast it up.
Another question about dressing is…do you put eggs in yours? Yep we put eggs our mix and many dont. I have eaten it both ways and like it all. I think the crock pot dressing calls for poultry seasoning. I use sage too.
Jean,
I don’t put boiled eggs in my dressing but I put them in the Giblet Gravy that you love so much!
Raw eggs…..my mother in law put the boiled eggs in her dressing. Now you would not have to ask me about giblet gravy…LOLOL!!!!
Jean,
I don’t put raw eggs in my dressing. There’s enough eggs in the cornbread. Plus the white wheat from bread or crackers helps bind it together.
How long does it bake ? What temp ?
Judy,
I’m sorry that I left that off the directions. I edited the post to add it. Bake at 350 degree for 45 minutes or until the top is brown.
Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention.
I always make my mother-in-law’s cornbread dressing up here in the land of bread stuffing. (I love that, too!) She always added a couple of eggs, shaped it into serving-sized ovals, and baked it in a pan. It seems to make the best combo of crunchy edges to moist insides. Your recipe looks delicious!
Chris,
Your mother-in-law’s idea for adding more crispy edges is plum smart!
Love trying out new Holiday recipes. This looks and sounds so tasty! Thank you for sharing on my FB page as well. Happy Thanksgiving.
Sherri,
Thanks for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.
Jackie,
Esther made the egg bread from scratch. I think she used corn meal or flour, an egg and buttermilk. I can’t remember for sure. She baked it in an 8 in iron skillet. She also taught me to use chicken thighs for the stock and the meat for the dressing. She said it was the richest and her dressing was GREAT!
Kevin,
I always have homemade stock on hand because I save chicken and turkey carcasses just for that purpose. I don’t add meat to my dressing because I always have giblet gravy with lots of meat added.
I wouldn’t think of starting my dressing without have some good, old fashioned homemade eggbread for it! I made the cornbread a day or two ahead so it can get stale which makes it soak up more stock and gives it more flavor.