My New Favorite Cornbread

You may notice that my writing has suddenly become more stylish. This is because I am now using my new MacBook. I have promptly affected a hip persona, and find myself looking at PC users with disdain. It is a great effort for me to resist the urge to wax poetical about trendy topics like the merits of Japanese design, which is sadly outside the purview of kitchendiaries.net.

Instead, I will write about the cornbread I prepared a few days ago, which was surprisingly successful, considering it was made by a pathetic Dell user. My original plan was to serve the cornbread as an accompaniment to my Super Bowl Chili, but Whole Foods was out of cornmeal that Sunday, forcing me to settle for a nasty jalapeño-cheddar cornbread from the bakery section, which no one at the party dared touch. I knew I could do better, and was especially curious about a Cook’s Illustrated recipe that claimed to make a Southern cornbread for the northern palate.

I have given much thought to the relative merits of America’s myriad regional cornbreads. As an Ohioan living in Massachusetts, it is unsurprising that I prefer the sweeter, lighter Northern cornbread to the denser, drier Southern incarnations. However, I can’t help but feel that Northern cornbread is too cake-like to be a suitable dinner accompaniment. The Cook’s Illustrated recipe definitely was the best of both worlds: a savory cornbread that was moist and substantial. The bacon fat didn’t hurt the flavor, to be sure, but I think the dish still would have been delicious if made with butter and oil. Cook’s Illustrated has done it again with my new favorite cornbread recipe:

Southern-Style Cornbread

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

4 tsp bacon drippings

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup water (rapidly boiling)

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and heat to 450 degrees. Set 8-inch cast-iron skillet with bacon drippings in heating oven.

Measure 1/3 cup cornmeal into small bowl. Mix remaining cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in large bowl. Set aside.

Pour boiling water all at once into the 1/3 cup cornmeal. Stir to make a stiff mush. Whisk in buttermilk gradually, breaking up lumps until smooth, then whisk in egg. When oven is preheated and skillet is smoking hot, stir dry ingredients into mush mixture until just moistened. Carefully remove skillet from oven. Pour hot bacon fat from the skillet into the batter and stir to incorporate, the quickly pour the batter into heated skillet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and instantly turn cornbread onto a wire rack. Let rest for five minutes and then serve immediately.