Cracklin' Cornbread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 17, 2013
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 10
Ingredients
Before You Begin
For the crunchiest crust, bake the cornbread in a cast-iron pan. Avoid coarsely ground cornmeal, which will make the cornbread too gritty. See related Quick Tip for information about seasoning cast-iron skillets.
Instructions
- COOK BACON Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Cook bacon in 10-inch heatproof skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off fat from pan, reserving ¼ cup.
- MIX BATTER Combine cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons oil, reserved bacon fat, eggs, and crisp bacon.
- BAKE CORNBREAD Heat remaining oil in empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Spoon cornmeal mixture, ½ cup at a time, into skillet and bake until top begins to crack and sides are golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Serve.
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 10Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
With a perfectly seasoned skillet and some rendered pork skin, anybody can enjoy this southern classic. Unfortunately, not everyone has the ingredients or the equipment, and store-bought pork rinds are a laughable stand-in. To create makeshift cracklings for our Cracklin’ Cornbread, we tried everything from salt pork (too salty and tough) to Fritos fried in bacon grease (just wrong), and eventually settled on fried bacon. To keep the cornbread crunchy, we removed it from the skillet shortly after it was done. This way it didn’t steam and soften while it sat in the warm skillet.
Before You Begin
For the crunchiest crust, bake the cornbread in a cast-iron pan. Avoid coarsely ground cornmeal, which will make the cornbread too gritty. See related Quick Tip for information about seasoning cast-iron skillets.
Instructions
- COOK BACON Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Cook bacon in 10-inch heatproof skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour off fat from pan, reserving ¼ cup.
- MIX BATTER Combine cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons oil, reserved bacon fat, eggs, and crisp bacon.
- BAKE CORNBREAD Heat remaining oil in empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Spoon cornmeal mixture, ½ cup at a time, into skillet and bake until top begins to crack and sides are golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Serve.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
More Like This
Keep Exploring
0 Comments