Seafood Cornbread Dressing

Seafood Cornbread Dressing

Side Dish
105 min

This seafood dressing recipe is a Southern twist on classic cornbread stuffing, packed with tender shrimp, sweet crab, and buttery flavor in every bite. It bakes up perfectly moist with the help of a homemade seafood stock, creating a rich, decadent dish that works as both a side and a main.

Ingredients

  • 1 cupcornmeal
  • ½ cupflour (self rising)
  • 1 tbspsugar (white-granulated )
  • 1 cupmilk
  • ¼ cupbutter (salted at room temp)
  • 1egg (room temp)
  • 1 tspcooking oil
  • cornbread (about 4 cups)
  • 1 lbmedium sized raw shrimp (peeled and deveined )
  • 6 ozcrab meat (snow crab or dungeness )
  • 1 tbspgarlic paste (minced garlic)
  • 1 cuponion
  • 1 cupcelery
  • 1 tbsptarragon (fresh and minced)
  • 1 tbspparsley (fresh and minced)
  • 2 tbspgreen onion (fresh and minced)
  • ¼ cupmayonnaise
  • ¼ cupcream of mushroom
  • ¼ cupcream of celery
  • 1 cupseafood stock (veggie or chicken broth)
  • 1 ½ tspseason all
  • ½ tspblack pepper
  • 1 tspold bay
  • 2 tspsmoked paprika
  • 1 cupsitalian loaf bread
  • 1 cupcelery (roughly chopped)
  • 1 cupcarrot
  • ½onion (or shallot) (roughly chopped)
  • 1 tbsproasted garlic base bouillon
  • ½ cupswater

Directions

Cornbread recipe

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

  2. 2

    Coat the baking dish with 1 tsp of oil and place in the oven while it preheats.

  3. 3

    In a bowl, combine dry ingredients.

  4. 4

    Beat the egg separately and add to the dry mix.

  5. 5

    Add milk and whisk until thoroughly combined.

  6. 6

    Once the oven comes to temp, remove the baking dish, add the butter allowing it to bubble and melt.

  7. 7

    Once the butter is melted, slowly pour in the wet batter 1 tbsp at a time (simultaneously whisking and pouring). Continue to temp the batter by adding small amounts of butter until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Reserve one tablespoon of butter in the baking dish.

  8. 8

    Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until cornbread is cooked through to the center.

  9. 9

    Allow cornbread to cool while preparing the stuffing mixture.

Seafood cornbread dressing recipe

  1. 1

    Mince onion, celery, tarragon and parsley. Set aside.

  2. 2

    Peel shrimp and deshell crab (or drain juice if using canned). Set aside.

  3. 3

    In a medium sauté pan on medium/high heat, sauté garlic, onion and celery in 1 tsp butter for 3-5 minutes.

  4. 4

    Season with salt and pepper and add fresh herbs sautéing an additional minute. Set aside and let cool.

  5. 5

    Once cornbread has cooled, begin breaking it apart into smaller pieces into a large mixing bowl. This will make about four cups of cornbread.

  6. 6

    Add in vegetables, herbs and one cup of dried stuffing mix and lightly stir.

  7. 7

    Add in mayo, cream of mushroom and celery and seasonings. Stir until combined.

  8. 8

    Slowly pour in the seafood stock 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until batter becomes slightly mushy. (Batter should need the entire cup of stock)

  9. 9

    Taste batter for flavor and adjust seasonings to your liking.

  10. 10

    Fold in crab and shrimp carefully and place in the baking dish, spreading out evenly.

  11. 11

    Sprinkle with paprika on top and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes uncovered.

  12. 12

    Remove from the oven and let stuffing rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Seafood stock

  1. 1

    Place seafood stock ingredients in a large stock pot and fill with water just above ingredients.

  2. 2

    Bring ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for up to 30 minutes.

  3. 3

    Use a fine strainer to strain liquid from stock ingredients.