Cornbread stuffing? Do you need to use white bread mixed with cornbread? Do you dry out the cornbread?

[roux42]

Do you need to use white bread mixed with cornbread? I am making it for the first time for my turducken. I was planning on using cornbread stuffing for all three layers but use sweet sausage for two layers and andouille for one layer. Half the recipes I find call for some white bread. What do you think?

[dmd_kc]

Mine always has some wheat bread in it, but after many years of experimentation, I've found I prefer commercial sandwich-style 100% whole wheat bread, cubed then dried well.

With the turducken especially, I'd definitely add white/wheat bread of some sort, because as others have said, 100% cornbread stuffing is much more dense, and I think would make your birds leaden. There's so much going on in that dish anyway, so the bread part should act as a bit of relief, I think.

[cookieluvntasha]

I only use cornbread in my stuffing. I find that if I add a 1/2 cup of sour cream to my batter then it comes out cake like enough not to be too heavy for the stuffing the next day.

[Perilagu Khan]

My old family recipe--and I'll swear by it--uses cornbread and only cornbread that has sat out overnight. It's the best dressing I've ever tasted, if I do say so myself.

[Uncle Bob]

We make cornbread dressing...crumbled.....with two or three left over biscuits added.
However, considering the amount of cornbread, the biscuits are really kinda insignificant....So why add them? My GGG-Grandmother did in the 1840's and possibly her mother before her....

[kittyfood]

I grew up in Arkansas, where they made cornbread stuffing without the white bread. It can be really dense and heavy. I like mine lighter, but with the taste of cornbread, so I combine the two.

[soonerhound]

My family's recipe is equal parts cornbread and toasted (and dried out overnight, so it absorbs the broth better) white bread, torn into small pieces.

[todao]

It's really all about texture. Adding plain white bread or even a whole wheat bread to the corn bread tends to lighten it somewhat. However, if you're style of corn bread is more cake like and less dense, it will be lighter. Dense/heavy corn bread tends to make a heavier stuffing. Another thing that will make a difference is whether you crumble the corn bread into the mix or mix it so that the corn bread maintains some its original integrity.
Personally, I'd avoid using white bread in a corn bread stuffing.

[kattyeyes]

Hi! I made cornbread stuffing this past Turkey Day with just my own cornbread and it rocked. In years past, I've used Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing crumbs. No need for white bread. I use the Silver Palate recipe (here it is--minus the liver and heart):
http://www.gourmet.org/recipes/stuffi...