Joy Of Cooking Crackling Cornbread Recipes

CRACKLIN CORNBREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Put the butter in the center of an 8" cast iron skillet and place it in the oven so it can get sizzling hot.
• Mix all of the dry ingredients, including cracklins in a large bowl.
• Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
• Combine the wet and dry ingredients. The batter will be very thick.
• Take the skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into the hot skillet.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
• Return the skillet to the oven and bake the cornbread for 25 minutes.
• Remove the cornbread from the oven and place the skillet on a heatproof trivet or hot pad.
• Allow the cornbread to cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

CRACKLIN' CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat a cast-iron skillet over low heat until warmed through. Meanwhile, grind or cut the bacon into a small dice. Spread over pan evenly. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently so that it doesn't burn, until the fat is rendered and the bits of bacon are crispy, 4-5 minutes. Drain the bacon in a strainer, reserving the fat to use in the recipe. (You will need 5 tablespoons.) Place skillet into the preheated oven to heat.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and salt. Slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and bacon bits. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just to combine.
• Move the skillet from the oven to the stove, placing it over low heat to keep it hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Pour the batter into the center of the skillet, distributing it evenly. It should sizzle. Cook on the stove over medium heat until the edge is golden and pulling away from the pan, 1-2 minutes.
• Bake the cornbread until a toothpick placed in the center comes away clean, about 20-30 minutes. Optional: Rub a bit of lard on top of the finished cornbread and broil until golden and sizzling (less than one minute).
• Serve in the skillet or flip out of the pan onto a plate. Slice into wedges and serve hot.

CRACKLING CORN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the butter or bacon grease in an 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet and set over a medium-low flame. Heat until the bubbling subsides.
• Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and gradually stir in the buttermilk. Add the eggs and cracklings or bacon. Stir in the melted butter or grease and pour the batter into the hot skillet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes, then invert over a plate or cooling rack. Serve warm. The cracklings respond especially well if the corn bread is toasted the next day.

CRACKLIN' CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add milk and stir to combine. Fold in cracklins. Form batter into oblong cakes the size you desire and then roll in shortening. Bake in a greased baking dish for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CORNBREAD TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 3-quart high-sided casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet, saute the beef and onion over medium-high heat until the meat is brown and the onion translucent, about 10 minutes. Then add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, bell pepper (if using), chili powder, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and teaspoon salt. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk and oil until combined. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Spread the meat mixture into the casserole dish and cover with the corn bread topping. The topping will disappear into the meat mixture but will rise during baking and form a layer of corn bread. Bake until the corn bread is brown, 20 to 25 minutes.