Happy New Year-Part 4

Not serving cornbread at a Southern New Year’s table is heresy. And of the bazillion cornbread recipes out there, I’ve started using James Villas’ skillet cornbread as my go-to recipe. Why? It’s pretty basic, with no frou-frou ingredients like cheese, chilies, etc. Also, I generally prefer to use yellow cornmeal versus white. I happen to like buttermilk in the recipe too. And lastly, my man James advocates bacon fat — the essential ingredient to achieving the fab taste and crusty exterior. To quote an excerpt from the cookbook, “the secret … is not just the cornmeal but the quantity of bacon grease and the blazing hot cast-iron skillet.”

P.S. For my New England friends, take heed! Cornbread is savory — not sweet. One doesn’t add sugar, and doesn’t bake it in a square cake pan!

.

“Skillet Cornbread”

Adapted from James Villas’ The Glory of Southern Cooking

Ingredients:

• 2 cups yellow cornmeal (ideally water-ground)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup regular buttermilk
• ¼ cup bacon grease

Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking soda, and salt and stir until well blended. Add the eggs and buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until well blended and smooth. In a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet, heat the bacon grease, add it to the cornmeal mixture, and stir until well blended. Scrape the batter into the hot skillet, place the skillet in the oven, and bake till the cornbread is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the cornbread out onto a serving plate or serve directly from the skillet, cutting it into small wedges.

Personal Note: If you’re new to working with a cast iron skillet, heat the bacon grease on top of the stove on med-high heat. You don’t want the grease smoking and burned since you’re adding it to the batter … but just before it hits that stage. You can test the heat level and take a pinch of the batter and throw it into the pan. If things are bubbling and crackling, you’re good to go. And on another front, if you’re a food snob – this is the place to utilize any of those artisanal ground corn products that have now popped up over the South. BTW: This recipe halves beautifully, and fits right into a 6½ inch cast iron skillet.

.

No related posts.