Cast Iron Cornbread

My mom's savory Southern cornbread, made with plain yellow cornmeal and no added sugar. A hot 12-inch cast-iron skillet and bacon fat give it a crisp crust for serving with greens and pot liquor.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Southern

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 18

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 188kcal

Author Gary White

Equipment

1 12-inch cast-iron skillet

Ingredients

3 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
5 tablespoon bacon fat divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Add 2 tablespoons of bacon fat to a 12" cast iron skillet and place skillet in oven while preheating.
Add dry ingredients to large mixing bowl - cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, add buttermilk and eggs and whisk together.
Pour buttermilk mixture into bowl with cornmeal and mix well.
Carefully remove the hot skillet and pour its 2 tablespoons of melted bacon fat into the cornbread batter. Mix well.
Add 3 more tablespoons of bacon fat to skillet and return to oven until very hot (about 5 minutes).
Pour cornbread batter into hot skillet. Place skillet in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until set and lightly golden.

Notes

Cornmeal: Use plain, finely ground yellow cornmeal. This formula already includes salt, baking powder, and baking soda; self-rising cornmeal mix is not a straight swap. White cornmeal makes a paler loaf.

Hot skillet: Of the 5 tablespoons bacon fat, 2 go into the batter and 3 stay in the hot skillet. Have the skillet and fat very hot before pouring in the batter, and handle the hot skillet with oven mitts.

Butter option: If using butter in the skillet, heat the pan first, then add the butter. Pour in the batter as soon as the butter melts so it does not burn during preheating.

If you prefer it sweet: The recipe above is savory. My optional suggestion for a sweeter batch is 1 tablespoon sugar per cup of cornmeal, or 3 tablespoons for this recipe.

Nutrition