Leftover Cornbread

[Berlinsbreads]

Hi all--

I seem to find myself with this dilemna fairly often when I make cornbread with supper. It tastes great but our family can't eat all of it but the next day it is too dry and crumbly. I hate to throw things out, especially if they originally tasted great, so I'm looking for ways to reuse the leftovers. Or, does anyone have a good technique for reheating cornbread so that it is not too dry? What do you do with leftover cornbread?

[patti]

For a nice breakfast, cut it in half horizontally, butter it (crusty side down), broil it, and top with your favorite syrup.

[LaurieB]

Hi -- I don't have a good way to reheat cornbread -- it dries out really fast, but I have a recipe for cornbread pudding which is not bad. Let me dig it out and I'll send it to you.

Laurie

[SuzySushi]

Freeze the leftovers; reheat briefly in the microwave or wrap in foil and reheat in the oven.

Leftover crumbled cornbread is great in stuffing!

[Hiroyuki]

I've never felt cornbread turns too dry the next day. I just put the leftover in a plate and place a sheet of plastic wrap on top. For reheating, I just wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the microwave. Never had a problem.

[ellencho]

If I have day-old cornbread I usually incorporate it into my next meal as some sort of filler - maybe for meatloaf, or for stuffing for a bird, or a stuffed pork chop.

And I'm with patti on the buttered broiled cornbread. It also works well pan-seared, you end up with a delicious crust that will go well with your morning eggs and sausage.

[Mabelline]

Crumbled-up cornbread in a tall glass in the summer with buttermilk! EGADS! Good squared, or cubed.

[Timh]

I have done a a savory bread pudding with left overs. Included Tasso and mushrooms. Does require a little soaking in the custard before baking.

[PopsicleToze]

You can also cube it and saute in butter to make cornbread croutons. They are great on top of greens.

[Jaymes]

Crumble it up in a bowl, top with sugar and milk. Cornbread cereal. A family favorite in our house. You can add berries or fruit if you'd like. Just like other cereals. In the winter, you can heat the cornbread and make hot cereal out of it.

[Jaymes]

Here's another family favorite. Especially in the summer when we grill a lot of foods, I make extra cornbread so we can have this tasty salad. It's also fun to take to 'covered dish suppers.' It's quite a popular dish in some areas of the US.

Cornbread Salad

1 box Jiffy Cornbread, baked, cooled & crumbled, or 1 pan cornbread made with your own favorite recipe

1 C chopped tomatoes

1 C chopped celery

½ C chopped green bell peppers

1 bunch green onions w/tops, chopped

1 C mayo or Miracle Whip

Combine all ingredients thoroughly, cover and chill overnight.

And that's how we usually do it.

But...I've seen a great many recipes for this:

There's a Southwestern version where you use Mexican cornbread mix and to the above list of ingredients, you add some chiles and a well-drained can of kidney, pinto, Ranch Style, or chili beans. Some recipes call for a drained can of corn kernals. Some use 1 Pkg Hidden Valley Dressing mix (prepared) instead of the Miracle Whip or Mayo. Also, ½ cup chopped sweet pickles or pickle relish and ¼ cup sweet pickle juice is popular. And you can top with grated cheese (either Cheddar or Parmesan). One friend adds pimentos and pecans. Many folks include bacon, anywhere from 4 strips up to 1 pound, fried crisp, chopped, and stirred into the salad, often with some reserved to sprinkle over for garnish.

It's really very versatile -- you can add whatever you want -- and an excellent way to use up cornbread.

Edited March 17, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[Mabelline]

Ahhh, Jaymes, give me the chuckwagon salad with green onions, ranchstyle beans, black olives and cornbread! How could I've forgotten? Go sit in the corner, child!

OOPS! Forgot the cheese cubes-rat cheese.

Edited March 17, 2005 by Mabelline (log)

[Jaymes]

...rat cheese.

"Rat cheese..." Now there's a term I haven't heard in years.

I wonder if the young'uns even know what it means.

Edited March 17, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[andiesenji]

I rarely have leftover cornbread because whatever we don't eat goes to my dogs who demand it. They love cornbread too.

I also like cornbread crumbled in milk, sweet as well as buttermilk.

Sometimes I do make it ahead and simply cool it completely then store in a ziploc bag in the fridge.

When ready to eat, I simply open the bag and heat the cornbread right in the bag, to retain moisture. It only takes a few seconds to heat.

Cornbread is used as a base for stewed pork in verde sauce, sliced pork in spicy gravy and this evening is going to be placed on a plate and covered with creamed asparagus and some crispy bacon crumbled over the top. Great combination of flavors.

[ludja]

Here's another excellent cornbread salad from Schlesinger and Willoughby's "Thrill of the Grill".

3 cups stale corn bread

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 sm. red onion, minced

4 Tbs chopped parslely

2 Tbs chopped cilantro

2 scallions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 fresh red or green jalapeno, minced

s&p

3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs white vinegar

6 Tbs lime juice (~ 3 limes).

Crumble corn bread coarsely and toast in oven to further dry out. (~ 250 deg oven, 1-1 1/2 hrs). Mix in vegetables and herbs, make vinagrette and toss well again.

I also use the method andiesenji mentions above to keep cornbread for a few days--seal non-sliced cornbread in a plastic bag and keep in fridge.

When it eventually gets on the dry side after two days or so, I split a piece of cornbread in half, toast in toaster oven and have for breakfast with butter and salt on top.

[ludja]

I rarely have leftover cornbread because whatever we don't eat goes to my dogs who demand it.  They love cornbread too.

...

←

With your dogs' love of cornbread maybe there's some truth to one of the 'hushpuppy' stories then... that is, that the name come from throwing a piece of corn pone to the dogs to keep them quiet, saying, "hush puppy"!

[NulloModo]

When visiting my grandmom there always seemed to be a surplus of corn-bread after a couple days. One of the best desserts, or even breakfasts I suppose, ever, is to take a couple pieces, slice open so that the uncrusted side is up, heat them up in the microwave (microwave works better here, as you don't want more crust on top) and then slather with lots of butter and drown it all in maple syrup.

[Mabelline]

Cornbread salad works well with cold leftover blackeyes and drained very dry collards or turnip greens, or all the makin's for coleslaw, with puried avocado mixed in. Those are both nextday chuckwagon recipes.

[fifi]

You didn't say what style cornbread you are saving. My typical cornbread is almost an exact duplicate of andiesenji's skillet cornbread. Take a look at her wonderful demonstration here.

I have occasionally had to make several batches ahead of time for a big crowd that will be eating chili, BBQ and other likely suspects. I also make it ahead for a big batch of cornbread dressing. Even though the dressing is more forgiving, I let it cool then wrap the whole bread tightly in heavy foil, carefully sealing the seams. Then it goes into the freezer. I thaw it on the counter and warm, still in the foil, in a warm oven. Works like a charm.

[andiesenji]

I rarely have leftover cornbread because whatever we don't eat goes to my dogs who demand it.  They love cornbread too.

...

←

With your dogs' love of cornbread maybe there's some truth to one of the 'hushpuppy' stories then... that is, that the name come from throwing a piece of corn pone to the dogs to keep them quiet, saying, "hush puppy"!

←

Since we began letting the dogs into the kitchen again (I didn't renew my certification at the end of January), they park themselves in front of the oven waiting for the cornbread to come out.

I always bake a small pan for them anyway.

I have to separate them when they get their treat because it is the one food item over which they will fight. Well, fight isn't exactly the word. Poor Player is a very laid back dog and his daughter Teafer bullies him terribly. She will actually snatch his treat right out of his mouth if I don't keep them apart.

I don't know what it is about the cornbread (maybe the lard or bacon drippings) but they really go nuts over it.

[andiesenji]

My housekeeper, who had never tasted cornbread until she came to live with me, likes to split it, slather it lavishly with butter then run it under the broiler until the surface is actually bubbling. On top of this goes a slather of sour cream and she daintly eats it with a fork. She says the flavor combination and the cold sour cream on top of the hot, buttery cornbread is a wonderful taste treat.

[JennotJenn]

Crumbled-up cornbread in a tall glass in the summer with buttermilk! EGADS! Good squared, or cubed.

←

That was about all my grandpa would eat during the last year or so of his life. By the end, he wouldn't even eat pintos, just cornbread and buttermilk. I personally can't abide it, but he obviously loved it.

Anyway, when we had leftover cornbread in the summer, my mom would make stuffed bell peppers. You take about a pone of cornbread (whatever it takes to make the mixture more paste than liquid but not too dry), a pound of hot breakfast sausage, a quart of tomatoes (or maybe it's a pint? whatever doesn't make the mixture too liquid) and a can of corn, mix it up real good, put it in halved, par-cooked bell peppers and bake until crusty brown (with the occasional very delicious burnt spot). I always felt sorry for the kids whose moms made stuffed peppers with ground beef and rice.

My cats love cornbread, btw. One of the few human foods they'll fight over.

[Mabelline]

Dogs are a corn animal to Native Americans.Seems they knew whereof they spoke.

[cakewalk]

I love cornbread with yogurt, even when it's fresh cornbread. But when it's a little stale, it's really perfect to break into pieces and eat with plain yogurt.

[Lone Star]

I second the cornbread salad idea - serve it with something you would ususally have potato salad with. Make sure to use lots of hard boiled eggs!

You could could roast a chicken the next day and make up some delicious cornbread dressing too, or just make the dressing and freeze it for another day.