Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cornbread


Very delicious, if I do say so myself 
Quite awhile ago, probably last winter, I had a request to share how I make cornbread.  Today is rainy, overcast and cool (fall is finally on the way!), which puts me in mind of soup weather, and cornbread is very good with soup.  So this seems like a good time to share.  

Now through the years I've eaten many varieties of cornbread, from golden brown little soft squares served in cafeterias, to the sweet cake-like cornbread of the Cayman Islands, to crunchy corncob-shaped pone.  And I grew up eating cornbread, mostly my grandmother's, which was the best.  However, mine is not exactly like hers because when I was grown and married, the recipe I happened to find and start using was from the 1977 edition of Tea Time at the Masters, a cookbook from the Junior League of Augusta, Georgia.  My recipe has a little bit of sweet to it, while my grandmother's did not (and my mom still prefers hers).  If I get ahold of her recipe, I'll pass it along.  In the meantime, my cornbread is still delicious and worth trying;)

To make good cornbread first assemble your ingredients.
You will need sugar, cornmeal (white or yellow, I've used both -- whatever you have), all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, an egg (beaten), milk, oil, and plain yogurt (sour cream is what the actual recipe calls for, but yogurt works fine).

And don't forget THIS, which is the secret to a good crust on the cornbread:
Bacon Grease
If you are not the type of person who has bacon grease stored in your refrigerator (like I am:), you need to become one.  Go out and buy some bacon and fry it up, pouring the grease into a coffee mug.  Store it in the refrigerator -- it will keep indefinitely.  There will be more than enough to use for the cornbread.  (You can also rub it on the outsides of baking potatoes, sprinkle them with coarse salt, poke holes in them with a fork and bake at 400 degrees for one hour -- but that's another recipe.)

You also need a cast-iron skillet, about 8 inches in diameter.

Put a dollop of bacon grease into the skillet, just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Blurry, but you can see about how much to add
Put the skillet into the oven, and turn the oven on to:

Leave the skillet in the oven until the grease has melted, then take it out of the oven and set it on the stovetop:

Meanwhile, mix up your ingredients (I just do it by hand, no need to get the mixer out).

Pour the batter (which is fairly thick) into the skillet.  It will look like this:

Put it into your preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until the middle is cooked through.
Doesn't it look beautifully crusty?
Now comes the fun part.  Take your skillet and flip the cornbread over onto a plate.

Hopefully it comes out looking like this:

If your cornbread sticks in the skillet, it will be messy but still taste good.  Go ahead and eat it.  It just means your skillet needs to be seasoned a little.  You can read up on how to do that yourself, but it's easy.  Basically, just grease your skillet down and warm it in the oven for a little while.  Take it out and let it cool.  Then wipe down with a paper towel and put away until next time.

I slice my cornbread up into 8 pieces to keep everything fair here at my house.
Another blurry shot

I usually make two cornbreads because of my large family. And now that I have another 8-inch cast-iron skillet, I can make two at the same time.  You can butter it or not, and it goes well with vegetable type soups and bean soups, too.


If you have any left over, my very favorite way to eat cornbread is to crumble it up into a mug, pour milk on top and eat with a spoon.  Mmmmm!  That was something my paternal grandfather loved, and then me, and now my daughter:)
Great for breakfast the next morning
Here's the recipe in an easy-to-write-down form.

Sour Cream (or Yogurt) Corn Bread

3/4 cup corn meal (yellow or white)
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients just enough to blend well.  Pour in a greased 8-inch square (or round) pan.  Bake at 425 ºF for 20-25 minutes.  8 pieces.


9 comments:

  1. I've never heard of using sour cream or yogurt in corn bread. Mine only has three ingredients: Martha White Cornmeal Mix, water, and an egg. Sometimes I leave out the egg. Oh, and I add 1/4 cup sugar.

    Love cornbread and milk. Learned that from my grandparents. Gayle's mama can make amazing cornbread. I've tried and tried but just can't get it as good as hers. I've watched her do it a dozen times. Sigh...

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  2. Wow, this looks yummy! My husband loves cornbread, I will definitely copy this recipe, thanks for sharing.

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  3. Thank you so much for this recipe - it looks deeelicious! I never knew about the bacon grease and yes, I guess it would make the crust beautifully crisp. My son will be over the moon at the idea of buying bacon to create a mug-ful of fat as he is under the impression that I never ever buy or cook enough bacon for his wants! I've been experimenting with cornbread muffins recently - thinking of doing a post on them if I can get the camera to them before they are hoovered up! - but must now try this. Do you have to use a cast-iron skillet? I haven't got one of these so may need to invest in one first. Otherwise can I just use a regular cake tin? E x

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    1. You can try it in a cake tin, but I think it will turn out better in the cast iron. In the states these are not very expensive and are fairly easy to find, but I'm not sure how it will be for you in the UK. Let me know how it goes:)

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  4. I love to make cornbread in a skillet - my daughter-in-law taught me to do that. I will have to try your addition of sour cream because I think it make everything nice. :-) The photos here do make your cornbread look delectable!

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  5. Waaaaah. I'm all caught up, and seriously hooked on your stories. More, please!
    a. w.

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  6. Oh I want to try it with the yogurt. I do like cornbread to have a bit of sweet and I always do a hot skillet method for cornbread. Might leave out the bacon grease and stick with butter, but I bet it tastes some good!

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  7. Dear Angela, What a delicious cornbread! I love the bacon grease!!
    I bet it gives it the best flavor ever.
    I am new to your blog and am following it. I hope that you will give my blog a visit too. Thank you and blessings, Catherine xo

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  8. This looks delicious. I have never thought to save bacon grease in the freezer. Can you tell I am a Western girl? What a great idea to add flavor. Thanks for the tip. I'll be trying your cornbread recipe.

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