what to do with slightly off corn muffins

[Lady_Tenar]

I baked a batch of corn muffins today and they came out mostly great--except that I think the cornmeal I used was slightly rancid. It is stone-ground whole meal corn and I think it's just a little too old. So the muffins have a slightly off flavor, though it is subtle. I don't want to just toss them because that seems like a waste. Does anyone have any recipes that use leftover corn bread that have flavors strong enough to mask slight rancidity? (I already dipped them into pot likker and beans for dinner tonight and am looking for other things).

[The Chowhound Team]

Folks, we've removed a few responses that stray from the topic at hand. While we know that any advice offered about food safety is meant in the most considerate and helpful manner, it's not the focus of this topic. If you don't think the poster should eat the muffins, please just pass this topic by, or perhaps consider this a question that might be of use to anyone who has made too many corn muffins and is looking for recipes for leftover cornbread.

[magiesmom]

crumble it up into buttermilk with some honey or maple syrup and eat with a spoon.

[jaykayen]

Butter with honey and lavender. The lavender smell and taste is pretty strong.

A bread pudding/stuffing with strongly seasoned sausage, lots of herbs and spices. I like bratwursts a lot.

[ipsedixit]

Use it for bread pudding.

Chop it up, toss with some garlic, butter and paprika, and use it as croutons

[ForFoodsSake]

I have masked a slightly off flavored cornbread before by using a honey and butter spread on it, if that helps!

[tcamp]

Although the cornbread dressing could work, if I knew the muffins were slightly rancid, I'd probably not enjoy the dressing.

You could make some ducks/other birds very, very happy.

[greygarious]

I sometimes make a clone of a delicious side dish I had at a restaurant specializing in Shaker cooking. It was a savory bread pudding made with cornbread, sweated onions, light cream, and egg. Shakers were the first Americans to make extensive use of herbs and spices (many of which they grew and whose seeds they sold in the paper packets they invented) so the original must have had herbs. I use summer savory and like to add parsley or chives or color. Sometimes I put corn kernels in as well. Sorry, I don't have a recipe but it's basic bread pudding proportions. The difference between this and corn pudding is that this uses cubes of stale cornbread which still retain some of their shape in the completed dish.

[Lady_Tenar]

no problem, I'm not big on following recipes myself. Is the technique just basically beating together some eggs and cream, mixing it up with some onion, herbs, cornbread cubes etc. and baking it? That sounds good!

[greygarious]

You got it! I think it's important to sweat the onion in butter first, since it needs to be mellow. You could use shallot or scallion instead.

As to your question re alkapal's suggestion, yes, eggs in stuffing/dressing are a binder. I think they add richness to the mouthfeel, too.

[alkapal]

you could make them into a cornbread dressing, with sauteed aromatics, eggs, broth, sage/poultry seasoning/thyme. serve with some roast chicken and cranberry sauce. ;-).

were you keeping the cornmeal in the fridge? it needs to be.

[Lady_Tenar]

I've never made a stuffing with eggs. I'm guessing they're just a binder?

[sandylc]

My family has always put eggs in stuffing?

[alkapal]

yes, binder. mom also put chopped boiled egg in the giblet gravy.