I made corn bread stuffing/dressing a few years ago.....and found that most wanted what they were used to.... I suggest you make both.
Basic method for cornbread stuffing ( for those "transitioning" from bread stuffing)
Make your own corn bread.....make a rich corn bread using sour cream etc.....there are lots of recipes.
Break it up and mix half and half with bread as you do for your usual stuffing.....and proceed with your usual recipe!!! Very important....or the traditionalists will pout and suck their thumbs!
Then if it meets with approval....continue that way....gradually increasing the amount of corn bread....and pretty soon it will become your "traditional" stuffing.
I mean....I have only been making Cranberry Jezebel for about 10 years....and now it's "traditional as if the recipe were 100 years old!

I've made cornbread dressing for years because I really don't like bread dressing. Our guests have enjoyed it too. The recipe comes from the 1976 Better Homes and Garden NEW Cookbook. This recipe is great!

In a skillet, cook 1/2 lb. bacon (8-10 slices) till crisp; drain, reserving 1/4 cup drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. To skillet, add 1 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1/2 cup water. Cover; cook till barely tender, about 7 minutes.

Combine bacon, reserved drippings, vegetable mixture, 3 cups coarse corn bread crumbs, 6 slices toasted bread, cubed, 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, and 1 cup chicken or turkey broth; toss well. Bake, covered in a 1.5 quart casserole at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Makes 8 servings or enough stuffing for an 8 lb. turkey.

@ Lindac - intrigued...never had a Jezebel(googled it though) @beachlily - Yours may be the one I'm looking for! thanks to all

I am thinking of making cornbread stuffing as well the bread kind I always make. But, I have never made corn bread stuffing. Do I need to cube it and dry it in a low oven the way I do regular bread for stuffing? I personally don't like mushy stuffing which is why I use sturdy artisan style breads and melba toast it before I make stuffing. It has some body that even with all the broth and butter.

I'm eyeing that corn bread stuffing recipe. This group loves bacon.

barnmom, exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. so many I have looked at really look mushy!

Barnmom,

One year I used 50% homemade cornbread & ruined our dressing.

I cut the cornbread in 1/2" cubes, tossed in melted butter, & baked until golden stirring a few times. They looked golden & felt dried. But, in the dressing they disintegrated into the rest of the dressing & turned the entire dish into sorta a cornmeal mush with stuff in it.

I used my normal cornbread recipe & I think that may have been the problem. I use buttermilk, AP flour, cornmeal, & a bit of sugar. I'm wondering if a more "southern" type recipe less rich would have held together better?

Never tried it again. I just stick with what I know my family loves. Ruining one T-day's dressing was enough. Your melba idea is, IMO, a good one.

/tricia

The recipes I've read say to make the cornbread, let it cool and then crumble it. Hmm. The direct path to mush I suspect.

E

For me, there is nothing wrong with a grits casserole, and if it is made with the correct amount of liquid, it will not be mushy and will have the consistency of polenta. Sometimes I make the dressing with grits, and sometimes I make it with cornbread, and my family cannot tell the difference. I do use a good amount of bread, and I have found that stale sourdough works best. To help the bread cubes keep their shape, I combine them with a couple of eggs that have been diluted with two tablespoons of water and allow the bread to soak up as much of that liquid as possible before adding them to the mix.

If you crumble the cornbread, it will come out like grits, and so you might as well use grits instead, which are easier to make! You can also use cooked polenta instead of cornbread. I'm more concerned with having the bread cubes keep their shape than the cornbread.

Lars

Here is what I do: make cornbread the day before (no sugar on the top) and let it sit out to make it somewhat dry. I'm in FL so nothing really dries out on the countertop. I cut the pan of cornbread as if we are eating it, then break the cornbread in coarse pieces and let them sit a while longer. If I've cut time too short, those coarse crumbs go into a barely warm oven to dry somewhat.

Also on the day before Thanksgiving, I put a white farmhouse bread in the bread machine and bake it IN the machine. This is a "utility loaf". I just slice it and toast it in the toaster to dry it out then cube it and use it in the dressing. (In my small town it is difficult to purchase good bread, that's why I do this. If you can purchase good bread, go for it!)

Drying the breads keeps the dressing from being soggy, but don't go crazy (like I've done), when adding the stock. Pretty much stay with the recipe and the dressing will be moist but not soggy.

I'm not loving the sound of this at all! I'm just not a Southern girl! LOL!

LOL

I agree, barnmom.

In Lars' post, he said, "...will have the consistency of polenta." For me, that said it all. Polenta IS cornmeal mush!

It's a regional thang, I think. I love that about this forum...all the different regional differences. I've still got that regional sandwich list everybody contributed to about 4 years ago. Been working our way through them.

/tricia

I think I will make a sturdy cornbread with no sugar and dry it out really well. I've had cornbread stuffing in the past and often found it quite sweet. I'm sure part of that is some natural sweetness in the cornmeal but it was probably also made with sweet cornbread.

Until I was married, I'd never tasted anything but cornbread dressing. The first time I went to my MIL's for Thanksgiving, I was horrified. (I was young.)

Nothing on the table was traditional to me and the dressing looked and tasted like glue. She made it with Wonder Bread and didn't dry it before using it. I had a hard time getting through those meals.

As years passed, my sister-in-law and I would bring more and more of the food. She never would give up that dressing, though. :)

Judi

Well, I've served that cornbread dressing to Canadians, to California folks, and to St. Louis people. They love it. If you don't like cornbread dressing, don't do it. It is wonderful to me and I'm from Denver. Aint just a southern thang!

I started making the Southern Living Cornbread stuffing recipe years ago when I moved to Fl. I love it but when family started moving down here I wound up making two pans because the cornbread type was "not right" to some of my family. This year I am going to make just one type. I am going with the one that was posted the other day. I think it is Marilyn's? I didn't save it off yet.

Cornbread Stuffing
Southern Living

2 (8 1/2 oz) packages cornbread muffin mix
1 pound ground pork sausage
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 cups finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 (8oz) package herb seasoned stuffing
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans ready to serve chicken broth
3 large eggs lightly beaten

Prepare cornbread mix according to package directions. Cool & crumble into a large bowl. Set aside

Brown sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles. Drain well and stir into the cornbread. Melt butter in a large skillet, add celery and onions. Cook over med/high heat stirring constantly until tender. Stir the vegetables into the cornbread mixture. Stir stuffing mix and remaining ingredients into cornbread mixture. Stuff bird and put the remaining mixture into a grease baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden.

The whole mixture fills a 9 x 13 pan.

I'm making two kinds of stuffing this year. I have to make two batches anyway and some of the guests like cornbread stuffing. So making two kinds seemed like a good idea.

I'm going to bake the cornbread tomorrow. I am slicing the other bread now.

Caboodle, I feel your pain. That dressing sounds awful.

I am in search of a good recipe for the cornbread. I found this one and would like opinions. I have a cornbread recipe I like made with yogurt but it is more cake-like than perhaps it should be for stuffing.

Southern Buttermilk Cornbread
http://andreasrecipes.com/

I grew up on my mother's and grandmother's Southern cornbread, and I'm devoted to it. Southern cornbread has no sugar and is cooked in a cast iron skillet, which renders a lovely crunchy crust. You can eat it by itself with butter or apple butter, or you can eat it with beans or chili and spoon either on top of a slice.

This is another recipe that I've played around with. Many cornbread recipes call for 1 cup cornmeal and 1 cup all-purpose flour. However, all that extra flour seems to detract from the corn flavor in my opinion. So I split the difference and I like the results.

Equipment

mixing bowl
9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients

1-1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or bacon drippings if you happen to have any)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in mixing bowl. Add the beaten eggs and the buttermilk, stirring just until all the dry ingredients are wet. Do not overmix.

3. Add vegetable oil to the cast iron skillet and place in the hot oven for 3 to 4 minutes. You want the skillet hot, but you don't want the oil to start smoking.

4. Remove hot pan from oven. Make sure that the pan is thoroughly coated with the oil, bottom and sides, then pour the excess oil into the batter and stir. Pour batter into the hot pan.

5. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Barnmom, That's pretty much the recipe I use (in my head; I don't measure), but I like half cornmeal and half flour and a T or so of sugar. I grew up with just-slightly-sweet cornbread and prefer that in my dressing, too.

As per the recipe, I place my oiled cast-iron skillet in the oven while it's preheating and leave it in there a bit. I like there to be some sizzing when I spread the batter in it. :)

Judi

Caboodle, that's like the mother of a guy I was dating years ago.
She made 2 kinds of stuffing; wet and dry. The wet was a soggy, gloppy gluey mess. But the "dry" was too dry and crispy.

That's funny! My mil's was definitely in the wet category.

Judi

My grandmother made tasty stuffing but it was in the solid, damp brick category. No fluff at all. She made the dried, toasted bread into crumbs before assembling and baking so it really compacted. I leave the pieces on the 1/2" and a bit larger size so there is some fluff, though I add plenty of broth and butter. Using a sturdy artisan bread helps too. It doesn't disintegrate. I guess some people like that texture. I'm also not fond of the texture of gooey bread pudding, either.

Although I can eat cornbread dressing/stuffing, I prefer the (around here more "traditional") bread stuff or a wild rice (or rice) dressing (with plenty of bacon!) I like cornbread, but I'm not wild about it so that's probably the explanation. And please, no entrails or fungus in the rice dressing either!