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the various and sundry creations of sylvus tarn
Skillet cornbread
has a delicious crust (2 variations)

It's not even been a week, but let's see how much I remember...here's the base recipe, which I chose because I had plenty of grits, but very little cornmeal left, to go with the vegan chili adjacent soup I'd made.

cornbread with peppers, onion & cheese, baked in cast iron pan. I did increase the saturation some to make it look a) more appetizing but also, to be fair, b) more what I actually remember it looking like. Photographed 03sep2020.

  • 1/2 C corn grits (coarsely ground corn meal)
  • 1/2 C corn meal
  • 1/2 C all-purpose white flour
  • 1/2 C WW flour
  • 1 T vinegar (&/or lime juice) added to make up
  • 1 C (soured) milk (i.e. buttermilk)[1]
  • 1 t sugar (or 1 T...)
  • 1.5 t baking powder
  • 0.25 t baking soda
  • 2 eggs (reduce to 1 is fine)
  • 2–4 T oil (reduce to 2T?)
  • 1 C grated habanero (or regular) cheddar
  • 1/3 –1/2 C? finely chopped onion
  • 1 (or 2 jalopeno) finely minced hot pepper[2]
  • 1/3–1/2 C finely chopped sweet (mini) peppers (e.g. 3)
  • 2 T butter

N.b. cheese and veges can easily add up to 2C

Method

  • add vinegar (and/or lime juice to milk to sour it. Or substitute yogurt and/or sour cream and/or soured, thinned whipping cream)
  • preheat oven to 400F
  • melt 2 T butter in cast iron pan;
  • mix dry ingredients
  • add oil & eggs; beat in well
  • add milk, milk
  • add veges & cheese, mix just to distribute
  • swirl melted butter onto sides of pan
  • add batter; put 5 slivers of butter on top of batter
  • bake until toothpick comes out clean (19 minutes in this case) and top is golden brown.

Edges should be browned and slightly crispy; edges has an overall slightly chewy texture behind the thin crust of burnt crispy butter bits—this is what made this version special.

Add'l notes: I didn't add the butter, and wouldn't’ve thought to use so much. It does make a lovely crust, so reduce oil in batter to bare minimum (2T), so butter can make up the crust. Dots of butter may have been put on top, like a pie-crust—this was a pretty rich variation.

Bacon fat variation:

  • 1-1/2 C grits (one cup slightly ground in blender)
  • 1/2 C www flour
  • 1 T lime juice plus enough milk to make
  • 1 C (butter)milk substitute
  • (approx) 6 T bacon fat, divided
  • 1/4 C aquafaba
  • 1 egg
  • 1.5 t baking powder
  • 1 t sugar
  • 0.25 t baking soda
  • 3/4 t salt[3]
  • 1–2 jalopeno peppers, chopped fine (include seeds & pith)
  • (approx) 1 C sharp cheddar, grated
  • 1/3 – 1/2 C onion, diced fine
  • 1/4 C minced cilantro (opt)

Method

  • sour milk by adding lime juice;
  • place roughly 1/4 C bacon fat in skillet
  • place in oven, heat to 400
  • mix dry ingredients, cheese & veges;
  • carefully remove 2 T melted fat from skillet & mix in
  • assemble remaining (liquid) ingredients, mix into batter
  • carefully remove pan from oven (again)
  • spread batter into pan
  • dot with more bacon fat (about 1 or 1-1/2 T)
  • bake at 400 d F for about 15–16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and cornbread is nicely browned (like the picture)
  • (made 11mar23)

[1]think I mixed in some soured whipping cream, 1–2 T?

[2]this was a nice hot one, and meant I didn't need to add any spices. Without it, I recommend some extra flavourings for additional kick.

[3]1/2 t was not quite enough


tags:

[food] [recipes]