My hubby isn’t the biggest cornbread fan, but it seemed fitting to make some with this chili. So I decided to try making some with bacon… and it worked 🙂
I took a skillet cornbread recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks and added some bacon and also cracked black pepper. The cast iron skillet really gives the cornbread a great crust. Since there is no flour, just cornmeal, this is a more crumbly, less cakey cornbread, but we thought it was very flavorful and went well with the chili.
BACON CORNBREAD
1/2 lb bacon
1 c yellow cornmeal
2 sp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 c boiling water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Cook bacon until crisp, then chop. Reserve bacon drippings, measure out 4 tsp of drippings. (Add oil to make this amount if needed.)
Place the bacon drippings in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and place in a 450 degree oven.
In a small bowl whisk together 2/3 cup of the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper, and baking soda together.
Place the remaining 1/3 cup cornmeal in another medium bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir until well combined.
Whisk in the buttermilk until smooth, then add the egg. When the iron skillet is hot, fold the dry ingredients into the wet and pour the hot drippings into the batter and stir to combine.
Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for about 20 minutes or golden brown.
Flip the cornbread out onto a wire rack and cool for a couple minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from The Americas Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bacon
- 1 c yellow cornmeal
- 2 sp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 c boiling water
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Cook bacon until crisp, then chop. Reserve bacon drippings, measure out 4 tsp of drippings. (Add oil to make this amount if needed.)
- Place the bacon drippings in an 8 inch cast iron skillet and place in a 450 degree oven.
- In a small bowl whisk together 2/3 cup of the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper, and baking soda together.
- Place the remaining 1/3 cup cornmeal in another medium bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir until well combined.
- Whisk in the buttermilk until smooth, then add the egg. When the iron skillet is hot, fold the dry ingredients into the wet and pour the hot drippings into the batter and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for about 20 minutes or golden brown.
- Flip the cornbread out onto a wire rack and cool for a couple minutes before serving.
