Southern Cornbread Dressing

 

 

Ingredients

  

• 9 inches round of cornbread, purchased or homemade, about four cups
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 sweet onion, medium, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, medium, seeded and chopped
• 3 stalks celery chopped
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 3 cups chicken broth divided
• 2 raw eggs beaten
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
• Add butter to a large skillet over low heat. When it is melted, stir in onions, celery, and green bell pepper; saute vegetables for ten minutes or until softened.
• While the vegetables are cooking, crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add hard-boiled eggs, two cups of chicken broth, and poultry seasoning.
• Add the cooked vegetables and butter, to the crumbled cornbread and gently combine the ingredients. You can use a spoon, but your hands work best. Taste and add kosher salt and ground black pepper.
• Add beaten eggs and mix well. Don't be alarmed if the mixture is soupy. If it's not, add up to one more cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it is soupy. It should be about the consistency of thick cornbread batter.
• Pour the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish or large baking dish.
• Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or until the dressing is set and golden brown on top.

 

                                                       OR

Ingredients

Cornbread:

• 1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour*
• 1/4 teaspoon  sugar, optional
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• cold butter to grease the skillet

Cornbread Dressing:

• cooked cornbread from above crumbled
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 long stalk of celery
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chicken stock warmed
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
• 1 tsp dried sage (2 tsp if using fresh sage)
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Cornbread:

• Preheat oven to 400°F and generously rub a 10-inch skillet with butter all over the bottom and up the sides. 
• Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk together. 
• In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.  
• Slowly pour in wet ingredients into dry ingredients while whisking and whisk until evenly incorporated.  
• Spread cornbread batter evenly in the skillet and bake for 20-22 minutes. (Until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.) 
• Let cornbread cool for about 10 minutes in the skillet and then turn it over onto the cutting board.   

Cornbread Dressing:

• Prepare the vegetables while cornbread is baking. 
• Set oven to 375°F and rub a 9×13 baking dish with butter all over the bottom and up the sides. 

  (Tip: if you want to make it more buttery, you can place a few thin slices of butter over the bottom of the baking dish. Then, spread the dressing over the top.) 
• Dice onions and celery and mince garlic. 
• Preheat a cooking pan over medium heat and add butter. Saute onions and celery until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Take off heat. 
• Crumble cooked cornbread in a large mixing bowl. (I like to leave some pieces larger and some smaller for the best dressing texture.) Add sauteed vegetables, salt, garlic powder, pepper, sage, and parsley. 
• Whisk eggs, warmed stock, and melted butter in another bowl and pour it all over the cornbread mixture. Mix everything together well. 
• Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the middle is set.  

  Expert tip: since cornbread dressing can be dry when overcooked, I would recommend to start checking the internal temperature 25 minutes, especially if it's spread thin or using a metal baking dish. Check at the very center of the dressing. Internal temperature of cornbread dressing should be at 165°F.

                                      OR

 

Ingredients

• 1 batch homemade yellow cornbread
• 10 slices white sandwich bread – toasted and cubed
• 1½ cups finely chopped onion
• 1½ cups finely chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 teaspoons salt (adjust to taste if your stock is salty)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 eggs, lightly whisked
• 5–6 cups warm chicken stock

Instructions

 

     Make the Cornbread  Bake your cornbread up to two days in advance. Let it cool completely, then crumble it into chunks and store it until ready to use. Warm cornbread will turn gummy — don’t skip the cooling step.

    Toast and Cube the Bread Toast your white sandwich bread until golden. Once cool, cut into small cubes. Spread them out to dry overnight if you have time, or bake them at a low temp if you're short on time. (I use the toaster, life is busy y'all!)

    Preheat the Oven Set your oven to 400°F and grease a 10x15-inch casserole dish.

    Sauté Celery and Onions In a skillet, saute celery and onions with 2 tablespoons butter and the teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Cook until onions are nearly translucent.

    Mix the Base In a large bowl, combine the crumbled cornbread, toasted bread cubes, sauteed celery and onions, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly.

    Add Stock Pour in 5 cups of chicken stock and stir to combine. Let it sit for a minute, then taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

    Add the Eggs Whisk 3 eggs and stir them in. The mixture should be very wet and spoonable. If it seems dry, add up to 1 more cup of stock.

    Bake Pour into the greased casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover, and if the center still jiggles, bake uncovered for another 5–20 minutes until firm and lightly golden on top.

 

NOTES: 

1. To cool the fresh baked cornbread fast, cut into small squares, with a butter knife. Then using hot pads to protect your hands dump the cornbread into a large metal or heat-reisistant bowl. This will make it fast to crumble and it will cool off faster. 

2. Sneak a tiny spoonful to taste about halfway through the cooking, the eggs are already setting at this point. Let is cool a bit and give it a taste? Do you need to adjust seasonings? This is the time to do so.