Cheddar Bacon Cornbread Recipes

JALAPENO, BACON AND CHEDDAR CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Arrange the bacon strips flat in a single layer in the bottom of a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until rendered and crispy, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to one end of a paper-towel-lined plate to drain (save room for the jalapeno!). Add the jalapeno to the bacon drippings and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the jalapeno to the plate next to the bacon. Roughly chop the bacon and return to the plate.
• Carefully remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan, leaving the rest. Keep the pan at the ready for baking the cornbread.
• Whisk together the buttermilk, oil and eggs in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture to the cornmeal mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet until completely incorporated. Mix in the Cheddar, bacon and jalapeno.
• Using a pastry brush, spread the bacon drippings up the sides and around the bottom of the pan. Heat the pan over medium-low heat until the fat just starts to sizzle. Pour in the cornbread batter, allowing the heat to quickly set the bottom crust.
• Put the pan into the oven and bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cornbread comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste the top crust with the butter. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

BACON CHEDDAR JALAPENO CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Fry bacon in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate; reserve remaining bacon grease in skillet. Crumble bacon.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place skillet with bacon grease in oven.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk milk, buttermilk, butter, and eggs in another bowl; stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Fold in Cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers. Allow batter to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Pour batter into hot skillet and sprinkle with crumbled bacon, gently pressing bacon into batter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing.

BACON-JALAPENO-CHEDDAR CORNBREAD

Steps:

• For the cornbread: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Liberally grease 12 muffin cups or mini cast-iron skillets with cooking spray or oil.
• Put the bacon in a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Set the bacon aside to cool on a paper towel-lined plate, then chop finely. Reserve the grease in the skillet for the glaze.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, oil, whole egg and egg yolk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the cheese, jalapeno and reserved bacon until just incorporated.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the edges are crispy and the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For the glaze: While the cornbread bakes, prepare the glaze. In the skillet that you cooked the bacon in, add the bourbon to the saved fat and bring to a boil (the bourbon may flame!). Add the honey and stir. Strain the glaze through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
• When the cornbread is out of oven and still hot, brush the glaze on the tops of each muffin.

BACON CORNBREAD WITH CHEDDAR AND SCALLIONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top of the baking sheet and arrange the bacon on the rack. Bake until the bacon is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Set 5 bacon strips aside, then chop remaining bacon into small pieces.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add the chopped scallions, sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the scallions are browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Grease a round 8-inch springform pan or cake pan with butter. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Add the milk, egg, honey and 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk until smooth. Stir in the chopped bacon, scallions and cheddar cheese. Pour the batter into the prepared pan; use a spoon to spread the batter into an even layer.
• Arrange the remaining bacon strips on top of the batter, trimming them as necessary, then bake until the cornbread is browned and firm in the center, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a kitchen knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Cut into pieces and serve warm.