Old-Fashioned Cornbread Dressing or Chicken & Dressing

Cooksie

Well-known member
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This is the dressing that we use as a side for turkey at Thanksgiving. It's the old-fashioned way, no eggs, etc. Sometimes I add chopped chicken for a Chicken and Dressing Casserole, and sometimes I just use it as a side for roasted chicken, substituting canned chicken broth for the "real stuff".


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1/2 of a whole chicken
salt
pepper
celery tops

2 pkgs white cornbread mix (I use Martha White/Gladiola.)
2 slices white bread, toasted

1 medium white onion, chopped
5 to 6 green onions, chopped (top and bottom)
3 to 4 stalks celery, chopped
1 to 2 T butter

poultry seasoning



Boil the chicken in water seasoned with salt, pepper, and the some leafy celery tops. Let cool, pick the chicken from the bones, and coarsely chop. Set aside.

Mix the cornbread according to directions and bake in a cast iron skillet according to pkg directions. Let cool. Crumble the cornbread and toast in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Saute the white and green onion and the celery in butter until the white onion begins to turn transparent. Mix the sauted vegetables into the cornbread/bread mixture. Season to taste with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. (At this point, you can refrigerate and cook the next day. My mother always said it was better that way :). It also gives you time to de-grease the broth.)

If you want, add the chopped chicken for a Chicken and Dressing casserole.

Add broth from the chicken a little at a time until the mixture becomes pourable (but not runny). Pour into a large, greased casserole dish and bake at 325 until set in the center.

Note: This is not the kind of dressing that you can cut into squares; it's more of a "scoopable" :biggrin: dressing.
 

Meme4251

New member
thank you both for responding. Cooksie, that sounds like the ingredients I use when I bake the turkey and make the side dressing at Thanksgiving. You both have a good day. sh
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Hmmmm this recipe might get me to actually LIKE cornbread!

I'm a big fan of moist stuffing with a lot of poultry seasoning in it !

Lee
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
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Hmmmm this recipe might get me to actually LIKE cornbread!

I'm a big fan of moist stuffing with a lot of poultry seasoning in it !

Lee

:mrgreen: I'm a big fan of a lot of poultry seasoning too. I have to go easy though because of others.
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
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Me three!! LOL I don't use cornbread in mine though.

Ahhhh, bread dressing....I actually like both bread and cornbread dressing. I think my husband secretly likes bread dressing better because that's the way his mama made it, but he has never complained :wub:. Want to share your recipe?

And, Meme, I'm always looking for a tweak. Care to share how you usually make yours?
 

homecook

New member
Yes, it's bread dressing. lol
I'll will try to get the recipe posted tomorrow. I don't measure anything so I'll have to think about how much of what I use. :wink: It's really simple and easy.......the way my grandmother and mother made it and the only way my family will eat it........especially DH. :biggrin:
 

chowhound

New member
This sounds very tasty. I'll use my pressure cooker to cook the chicken.
One question: How exactly do you toast the crumbled cornbread in a large mixing bowl? Just set the bowl in the oven (350?) and stir it a couple times?
 

Cooksie

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This sounds very tasty. I'll use my pressure cooker to cook the chicken.
One question: How exactly do you toast the crumbled cornbread in a large mixing bowl? Just set the bowl in the oven (350?) and stir it a couple times?

Lol--I guess I should have been more clear:

Crumble the cornbread and crumble the toast (2 slices bread, toasted) in a large mixing bowl.
 

Meme4251

New member
will be glad to Cooksie but I am never happy with my own even though it has basically the same ingredients of yours. I was raised on bread dressing as a kid and I have mom's recipe in my box of family recipes. Will try to locate it and post for you also. I'll eat bread dressing but prefer cornbread. Just printed yours out which I thank you. Give me a little time posting the other for you.
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
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Ok, Meme.

I know :whistling:somebody :whistling: on here who probably has a killer recipe. Maybe she will be on later.
 

chowhound

New member
Lol--I guess I should have been more clear:

Crumble the cornbread and crumble the toast (2 slices bread, toasted) in a large mixing bowl.

What a bonehead I am :bonk:

I probably would have figured it out when I go to make this... maybe... :unsure:

:smile:
 

Meme4251

New member
Cooksie, just looked thru one batch of recipes but the dressing recipes were not in that batch. I have another box of family recipes under my bed I will pull out and see if they are in there. Fixing to go to my daughters so she can wash and roll my hair, lazy this morning. lol.....Have a good day my friend....
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Did I miss the giblets somewhere???? In my family it isn't stuffing without the giblets.

1 Family sized loaf of day old bread
1 package of giblets finely chopped
1 stick of butter
1/8 C EVOO
1/2 C diced onion
2 Cloves garlic diced
1-2 Stalks celery finely cut
2 Eggs - beaten
Milk or Chicken Stock as needed
Poultry seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste


1. Cut up a loaf of day old bread into 1/2" squares and spread out on cookie sheets to dry out a bit while you're doing the rest of the work. Dust bread with poultry seasoning.
2. Finely chop all the giblets that came with the bird.
3. Saute' the giblets in a stick of butter & 1/8 C EVOO, along with 1/2 of a large onion diced, and a couple cloves of garlic diced.
4. Finely slice 1-2 stalks of celery.
5. In a large bowl combine the bread, giblet & onion mixture, celery, two eggs beaten and milk as required to moisten. You could use chicken stock as well if you have it on hand. Salt & pepper to taste. DO NOT overmix or you will end up with a paste (unless you like it that way). It should be kind of chunky yet well blended. I use 2 wooden spoons to mix with.

Stuff this in the bird or put in loaf pans and bake at 350 until a skewer comes clean in the center, about 30-45 minutes.

And that, boys & girls, is how we do it in our family. Your mileage may vary.
 

homecook

New member
Bear in mind I usually cook a 20-22 lb. bird. YMMV. lol

6-7 loaves of bread, cut or torn into 1 inch pieces left to sit out for a day
4 medium onions, minced
6 stalks of celery, minced
poultry seasoning
chicken stock
salt and pepper
butter

Mince the onion and celery (I use my FP). Saute in 1-1/2 sticks of butter til soft.
Put bread cubes in large bowl, add onion and celery. You may have to divide this into two bowls. I do. lol Add poultry seasoning to taste. I probably use 1/2 of a 0.65 oz. container, sometimes more. Moisten with chicken stock so it tends to stick together. Not so much that you have a big ball of it.
I make it the night before and stuff the turkey with it the morning of. I usually have some leftover so I just put it in a baking dish and moisten a little more with chicken stock and pats of butter.

That's how we've been making it for years. DH won't eat any other.

I use the giblets in my gravy..... LOL
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
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Both of those recipes sound great! I'll have to branch out and try my hand at making bread dressing. I have never used the giblets, but my mother always did. Thanks JoeV and homecook. :)
 

JoeV

Dough Boy
Site Supporter
Both of those recipes sound great! I'll have to branch out and try my hand at making bread dressing. I have never used the giblets, but my mother always did. Thanks JoeV and homecook. :)
You are very welcome.:chef:
 

Meme4251

New member
Joe, you are correct in the fact that most use giblets in their dressing but I am like homecook, like it in my gravy. May have to try next time adding some and comparing the taste between the two. May add some flavor. Thanks both of you for the ideas.
 

homecook

New member
Both of those recipes sound great! I'll have to branch out and try my hand at making bread dressing. I have never used the giblets, but my mother always did. Thanks JoeV and homecook. :)

Joe, you are correct in the fact that most use giblets in their dressing but I am like homecook, like it in my gravy. May have to try next time adding some and comparing the taste between the two. May add some flavor. Thanks both of you for the ideas.

You're both welcome!!:flowers:
 

chowhound

New member
I love giblet gravy. I Googled up a recipe one time that hit the nail on the head. Along with the giblets, you also add a chopped up hard boiled egg. Good stuff.
 

homecook

New member
I love giblet gravy. I Googled up a recipe one time that hit the nail on the head. Along with the giblets, you also add a chopped up hard boiled egg. Good stuff.

I've heard of doing that with the hb egg. I've never tried it though. Is it used to thicken the gravy??
I'll be making a turkey in the next week (late B-day dinner for John) I just may try that. Do you have the recipe anywhere?
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
Thank you Lollie!! I'll have to consider it.

I think it sounds delicious!
Never heard of using a hard boiled egg in gravy.

I wish I could recall Mom's recipe (the exact one) for her sausage,gizzard and mushroom dressing. It was really good.
She only used gizzards in it that had been pan fried.
I'd like to make it this year for Thanksgiving.
 

chowhound

New member
The ones Sass posted are pretty close. I'll PM mine to you as I don't recall the site I got it from and then we'd be getting into that whole copyright thang...
The eggs just add chunks.
 

homecook

New member
I think it sounds delicious!
Never heard of using a hard boiled egg in gravy.

I wish I could recall Mom's recipe (the exact one) for her sausage,gizzard and mushroom dressing. It was really good.
She only used gizzards in it that had been pan fried.
I'd like to make it this year for Thanksgiving.

I think I'm going to try it with the hard boiled egg this time. I just won't tell John and he will probably never know. lol
I'm glad I've been doing the holiday dinners for the past 10-15 years and got my mom to walk me through her stuffing because John always bragged on it and had me make sure it was exactly the way my mom made it. LOL He's picky that way.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
The ones Sass posted are pretty close. I'll PM mine to you as I don't recall the site I got it from and then we'd be getting into that whole copyright thang...
The eggs just add chunks.
yikes Fred!
I removed it. If anyone wants it, I'll send the link via PM.:bonk:
 

chowhound

New member
yikes Fred!
I removed it. If anyone wants it, I'll send the link via PM.:bonk:

You misunderstood, Sass.
What you did was fine. It's me that can't post the recipe I have because I have no reference to where I got it from. I would be in violation.

So stick your link back up there!
:wink:
 
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