Stuffing and seasoning originated in the Middle Ages, with a mixture of meat and bread cooked inside a bird. Cornbread became a staple in the southeastern US, leading to the creation of cornbread dressing. Recipes vary, but typically include sauteed onions and celery, fresh or dried herbs, and Cream of Chicken Soup. The mixture is seasoned to taste and baked until golden brown. Cornbread dressing is a high-calorie dish reserved for special occasions, but is a beloved part of holiday meals in the South.
Both holiday staples, stuffing and seasoning have their origins in the Middle Ages, when cooks filled a bird’s body cavity with a mixture of meat and bread. This is assumed to be because it helped prolong the meal and required only a hearth fire to cook it.
The dish has evolved over the years and arrived in America with the first settlers. As the southeastern United States began to be more populated and cornbread rose to prominence there, that quick bread became the staple of filling in that region. Over time, cooks found that the stuffing was actually cooked more evenly and tasted better when cooked in a separate pan and not inside the turkey or goose. Thus, the cornbread dip was born.
Every Southern household has a recipe, or two or three, for cornbread toppings. Some versions call for rice, some for sausage or oysters, and some for chicken, thus popularizing the church potluck dish, chicken and relish. The dressing is as varied as the cooks who make it, and most Southerners prefer Mother’s Cornbread dressing to anyone else’s.
Making cornbread obviously starts with a skillet of cornbread. This cornbread should be baked using at least four eggs, rather than the two normally used. This leads to a higher laying and a higher yield. Most cooks also include a few slices of leftover white bread or biscuits, which help bind the mixture.
The chicken or turkey stock (about 1 cup) is then added to the bread mixture and set aside. The process of sauteing chopped onions and celery together is popular recently, but this helps develop their flavors and protects against biting into a large piece of raw onion into the cooked sauce. Chopped fresh herbs such as sage and thyme can be added, although their dried counterparts are also acceptable, along with poultry seasoning. Another recent but welcome addition is a can or two of Cream of Chicken Soup. This helps make the dressing creamy and helps it “set” well. The soup is added to the onion mixture, along with a can of water, and stirred until bubbly.
The soup mixture and more stock are added to the cornbread mixture and stirred until fully incorporated. At that point, the cook begins the actual seasoning process of the dressing, and there are no right or wrong answers. It all depends on the cook and what the family likes. Some good add-ins include salt, black pepper, a dash of cayenne or hot sauce, garlic, marjoram, basil, celery seeds, savory, more sage and/or thyme as needed, and whatever the family prefers. Some cooks add chopped hard-boiled eggs to their sauce.
When the dressing tastes “right,” two eggs are cracked into the mixture and mixed. The cornbread relish is then poured into skillets and cooked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) until golden brown.
Cornbread relish is obviously a high-calorie, high-calorie dish, which is why it’s generally reserved for holidays or other special occasions. However, most families look forward to the moment when the sauce comes out of the oven and is ready to serve. Some Southerners claim that the cornbread gravy is, in fact, the best part of the turkey.
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