Why is my cornbread dressing gummy?

Why is my Cornbread Dressing gummy? Adding too much liquid can result in a gummy-like texture . Baking it longer, using less liquid, and more stirring can help avoid a gummy texture.

Is cornbread the same as traditional stuffing?

The significant difference between the two is the bread — the first building block that contributes the base from which the dish is prepared. Dressing is made from cornbread, and stuffing is traditionally made from other breads — sourdoughs, biscuits, etc.

Can you leave cornbread out overnight for dressing?

Be sure to leave enough time — the cornbread needs to sit out overnight to harden slightly before you make the dressing .

How soggy should stuffing be before baking?

The stuffing should be moist but not wet . If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

How do you keep stuffing from getting mushy?

If the stuffing came out too wet and soggy (aka bread soup!) try not to over mix it , otherwise it'll turn into mush. Curtis Stone says to pour it on a large sheet tray and spread it out. Bake it on high heat to crisp it up, but make sure it doesn't burn.

Is it better to use broth or stock for dressing?

You can use either stock or broth for keeping dressing moist or as a basis for gravy , but a strong flavor will give you better results.

What is stuffing called in the South?

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

What did Native Americans call cornbread?

Among them was a version of Indian bread made of cornmeal, salt and water called pone or corn pone . The name came from the Algonquin word apan, meaning "baked." The Narragansett word for cornbread, nokechick, became no-cake and then hoe-cake.

What is the difference between cornbread and Southern cornbread?

She notes that Northern cornbread is sweeter, lighter, and more cake-like than Southern cornbread . Not surprisingly, it includes sugar (or molasses, in the earlier centuries), unlike traditional Southern cornbread.

Should I dry out my cornbread for stuffing?

It doesn't matter which stuffing recipe is your favorite, the key to making the best stuffing (or dressing if that's what you call it) is having dried out bread . While some people are partial to making cornbread stuffing, others will make stuffing with ciabatta, white bread, or even challah.

How long does cornbread take to dry out?

You can achieve the perfect crunch by letting crumbled cornbread go stale on the counter in open, zip-top bags, but you'll need at least 24 hours . If you don't have time to spare, toasting cornbread in the oven can create the ideal texture too.

How do you dry out bread for stuffing quickly?

This Thanksgiving, skip the waiting and planning that staling demands, and pop open your oven instead. We start by cubing our bread—for traditional recipes, we favor a simple white sandwich-style loaf—then toast it in the oven at a low 275°F for about 45 minutes , tossing it every now and then to help it dry evenly.

Cornbread Stuffing with Kale and Mushrooms Recipe (2024)

Cornbread Stuffing with Kale and Mushrooms Recipe

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Pamela
November 13, 2017
6 Comments

Categories: Recipes, Gluten-free/gluten-free adaptable, Greens, Holiday, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Videos

Someone asked me in my class today what is my favorite food to eat on Thanksgiving. Honestly, I teach so many Thanksgiving classes in the month before the holiday that I am a little over all the food! I usually crave salad and roasted Brussels sprouts and a bite of pumpkin pie with a scoop of homemade ice cream. But I know that everyone else is so excited about the one-hit wonders of Thanksgiving like sweet potato casserole, turkey with cranberry sauce and cornbread stuffing. I truly only make stuffing only once a year and all my guests love it – so much so that I usually make two different types.

I taught this cornbread stuffing in last year’s Thanksgiving class and even though I’m not a huge fan of stuffing, I loved the variation on this with cornbread. Because cornbread has a subtle sweetness to it, I wanted to balance it out with some big savory flavors like mushrooms and kale, a favorite combination of mine. And just as importantly, this whole dish goes perfectly with turkey!

Your plan is listed in the recipe. Don’t be afraid to prep whatever you can ahead of time because that is the name of the game. I have frozen unbaked stuffing, defrosted it, and baked it and I swear you wouldn’t know it wasn’t prepared right before. Typically, I dry my bread out over the weekend before. (You can make your cornbread now and freeze it and then dry it out over the weekend.) I make my stock now and freeze it. I chop all the veggies next Tuesday and then assemble the cornbread stuffing on Wednesday, cover it and bake it on Thursday when the turkey is resting. Don’t forget to pull your casseroles out of the fridge a good hour or hour and a half before your put them in the oven so that they cook quickly and evenly. I am hoping to jump on Instagram live this afternoon to make stuffing and check in with you. I’m going to try for around 3:00 pm! Hope to see you then!

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Cornbread Stuffing with Kale and Mushrooms Recipe

Serves:8-10

Ingredients

1 recipe cornbread (recipe below) or 1 ¾ pound premade cornbread (not sweet)
6 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
½ pound shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced
½ pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, quartered or sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried sage
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons sea salt or 3 teaspoons if using unsalted stock
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 large bunch kale, stems removed and discarded, leaves chopped (or ½ pound baby kale)
2-3 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock (depending on if you like it wet or dry)
2 large eggs, beaten (helps to bind stuffing; otherwise omit and add more stock)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small dice (optional)

Instructions

Make the cornbread croutons: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut cornbread into 1-inch and ½-inch cubes. You should have 10 cups. Spread bread over 2 large baking sheets and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until completely dry, about 25 minutes. Transfer bread to a large bowl.
Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and grease a 13x9-inch baking dish.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté, stirring occasionally until softened, 10 minutes.
Stir in thyme, sage, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add kale leaves and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. If pan is starting to get dry, add a couple Tablespoons of water or stock.
Add vegetables to bread, tossing to combine. Pour stock and eggs over the bread mixture, tossing to coat evenly.
Spread stuffing in the prepared baking dish, dot with butter and cover tightly with foil. Bake in upper third of oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake stuffing until top is browned, 10 – 15 minutes more. Stuffing can also be baked in a well-greased 12-cup muffin tin.

Notes

Croutons can be prepared several days in advance.
Vegetables can be chopped the day before.
Entire casserole can be prepared up to the point of baking the day before and refrigerated or frozen and then thawed and baked according to the directions.

CORNBREAD
MAKES 12 MUFFINS OR 1 8X8 PAN
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1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour or your favorite GF baking mix
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground*
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup buttermilk**
½ cup melted unsalted butter (1 stick) or coconut oil or olive oil
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoons honey or Grade A maple syrup
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (optional)
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1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish (I usually dip a pastry brush in the melted butter I’m using in the recipe and grease the pan that way.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl or a blender, combine buttermilk, melted butter, eggs and honey until well blended. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the corn kernels. Using an ice cream scooper, divide the batter into the muffin pan or pour it into the prepared pan.
3. Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Or bake the cornbread in the 8 x 8 pan for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack before removing muffins from the pan.
*If you like a more tender, less grainy cornbread, increase flour by ½ cup and decrease cornmeal by ½ cup.
**Or ½ cup whole unsweetened yogurt + ½ cup milk of choice. Or 1 cup dairy-free milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

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Comments

Ana
November 22, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Stuffing is all done! Ready to bake tomorrow!
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- PamelaModerator
  November 26, 2017 at 5:49 pm
  Happy Thanksgiving!
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Mindy
November 14, 2017 at 9:43 am
If using non dairy milk for cornbread do you have a suggestion as to what works best? Soy, almond, etc?
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- PamelaModerator
  November 14, 2017 at 2:00 pm
  I have used unsweetened hemp milk and almond milk with success!
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Phoebe @ Feed Me Phoebe
November 14, 2017 at 6:14 am
i love this!! i’m the stuffing girl at my thanksgiving and made something similar to this a few years back. perhaps i will bring a pamela stuffing this year!! xoxo
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- PamelaModerator
  November 14, 2017 at 2:02 pm
  Have a happy Thanksgiving, Phoebe!:)
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I come from a large Italian-American family with 28 first cousins (on one side of the family!) where sit-down holiday dinners for 85 people are the norm (how, you might ask – organization! But more on that later …).

Some of my fondest memories are of simple family gatherings, both large and small, with long tables of bowls and platters piled high, the laughter of my cousins echoing and the comfort of tradition warming my soul.