STEP 1 — Make the Southern Cornbread (the foundation)

This ain’t sweet cornbread. No sugar, no flour-heavy mix, no nonsense.

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Cornbread Ingredients

2 cups cornmeal (stone-ground preferred)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

1 stick (½ cup) melted butter

2 tbsp bacon drippings (mandatory if you want your ancestors to smile)

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Directions

1. Preheat smoker or oven to 425°F.

2. Heat a cast-iron skillet with the bacon grease until it pops and shimmers.

3. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another; combine.

4. Pour batter into the screaming hot skillet — you should hear a sizzle.

5. Bake 20–25 min, until golden and crusty.

6. Cool, then crumble into chunks (NOT fine crumbs — keep texture).

7. Let it dry out a bit, even overnight if you can.

STEP 2 — Smoke Your Seasoning Base

This is where the magic happens.

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Smoked Aromatics

1 large onion, diced

3–4 celery ribs, diced

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp sage (more if you’re from Mississippi)

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Smoking Directions

1. Heat your smoker to 250–275°F (pecan, hickory, or apple wood).

2. Place a cast-iron skillet in the smoker, melt the butter.

3. Add onions + celery, close the lid, and smoke 25–35 min until soft and smoky.

4. Stir in sage + poultry seasoning.

STEP 3 — Put It All Together

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Dressing Mixture

Crumbled smoked cornbread

Smoked onion/celery mixture

Smoked turkey/chicken and Conecuh sausage (optional)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2–3 cups warm chicken stock

½–1 tsp salt to taste

Extra sage, black pepper, or poultry seasoning to taste

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Directions

1. In a big ol’ bowl, combine crumbled cornbread with smoked aromatics.

2. Add eggs.

3. Slowly pour warm stock until it becomes moist but not soupy — think thick oatmeal.

4. Taste the mixture. Adjust salt, pepper, sage.

5. Pour into a buttered baking dish or cast iron.

STEP 4 — Smoke the Dressing

1. Set your smoker to 300°F.

2. Smoke uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour.

3. When the top is golden brown and the edges are crusty, it’s done.

4. If you like it wet, pull earlier.

5. If you like it firm and sliceable, let it go the full hour (or a bit more).