The Best Stuffing Upgrade Uses Cornbread Cubes | Eater

"A national grocery chain’s cornbread products became the author's stuffing secret: originally sold as huge, expensive store-bought cornbread cubes that were dense, dry, and perfectly balanced between sweet and savory, they acted as ideal sponges for a fennel-and-sausage cornbread stuffing. After those premade cubes disappeared from shelves, the author discovered full loaves of the same signature cornbread (about $6 each), which she slices into large cubes and dries slowly in a low oven (around 200°F for a few hours) to achieve a textural masterpiece—bronzed, crispy points with structured, flavor-saturated interiors. The mass-produced loaves seem dense and just stale enough to dry out easily, striking a “unicorn” flavor balance that complements the stuffing without being overly sweet, and they save the author days of baking and drying time despite the recurring cost (roughly $20 a season)." - Lesley Suter