Cracklin' Cornbread

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If you like down-home, Southern-style cornbread, I have the ultimate recipe for you. This one is a version for which you can pull out and dust off your old cast iron skillet....no other baking dish will create the notorious crispy crust like it can. This recipe is taken from "The Joy of Cooking," but I have amended it a little bit for our tastes (in parentheses).

This cornbread is wonderful served straight up....or with red beans and rice....or gumbo....or Brunswick stew....or with a bowl of chili before a football game....or with a meal of all vegetables....or heaped into a tall glass with milk poured over it (Ken's favorite). You get the picture...it's just a well-rounded, all-occasion cornbread. Enjoy.

(I know that "cracklin'" actually means that melted beef or pork drippings have been added to a dish, but I don't do that to my cornbread. I just think the "cracklin'" best describes the crust of a dense, moist cornbread, and so I title it accordingly, though not technically correct.)

CRACKLIN' CORNBREAD

3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
2-1/2 t. baking powder
2 T. sugar (I use 1 T.)
3/4 t. salt
1-1/4 c. stone-ground cornmeal
1 egg
2-3 T. melted butter or drippings (I use 2 T. melted butter and 1 T. canola oil)
1 c. milk (I use buttermilk)

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a 10" cast iron skillet with lard or oil and set it in the oven to get piping hot.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add cornmeal and stir well. Beat together egg, melted butter, and milk. Add to dry ingredients and whisk just till blended. Spread into hot skillet. Bake 18-25 minutes, or till cake tester comes out clean and golden brown on top. Invert onto a plate and cut into 8 wedges. Serve hot.

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