[Doublej]

Anyone got a great, easy to make cornbread recipe?

[ctviggen]

Alton Brown has a good one, but you need a cast iron skillet:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/creamed-corn-cornbread-recipe/index.html

[Ericus Rex]

Northern or Southern style?

[Doublej]

Northern or Southern style?

Novice corn bread person here. No clue. North of what latitude?

[sts9fan]

No matter what the batter is made of I think cooking it in a cast iron pan with a full stick of butter melted in it is key. Not for the feint of heart but the best.

[konut]

Northern corn bread is very sweet with a high percentage of sugar and could rightly be called corn cake. Southern is markedly less sweet and not nearly as light a texture and also tends to be much dryer.

[konut]

Novice corn bread person here. No clue. North of what latitude?

The Mason-Dixon Line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason%E2%80%93Dixon_Line

[Ericus Rex]

Novice corn bread person here. No clue. North of what latitude?

What Konut said.  Southern style is great for eating with chili or soups or adding savory ingredients like jalapenos, onions or bell peppers.  Though I've lived in Boston for the last 10 years I'm from Georgia and I've never really like southern style cornbread by itself.  I've always had to add tons of butter to moisten it up.  I much prefer northern style when eating it by itself (my family down south doesn't approve   )

Here's a good 'n easy recipe for northern style cornbread.

1 cup butter
1 & 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups yellow corn meal
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Melt butter, stir in sugar and then eggs, buttermilk and soda.  Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until just blended.  Pour into 9X13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.



Another way to cook southern style c bread so it's not so dry is to pour the mix into 3-4" rounds (like pancakes) in a cast iron skillet with 1/4 " oil.  Fry until golden and flip.  Use a buttermilk batter for this style.  My mother usually uses a buttermilk cornbread mix and adds some flour to it (2 to 1, mix to flour).

[S Clark]

Interesting thread that brings back lots of good memories.  Three generations back, my family were mostly East Texas farmers. Meals around my great grandmother's, grand mother's, great aunt's, etc tables usually included cornbread, made to accompany fresh or home canned vegetables.  I remember grinding dried corn as a kid.  The cornbread it made was often crumbled in with peas, greens, squash, or beans, all enriched with bacon or ham.  Something pretty similar to that simple cornbread is:

    3 tablespoons bacon drippings
    2 eggs
    1-1/2 cups corn meal
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/3 teaspoon baking soda
    1-1/4 cups buttermilk or whole milk
Don't over beat the mixture, and cook in cast iron. I like to put an extra dollop of grease in a hot skillet before adding the mixture.  This definitely is not healthy, but it is soooo good at the bottom of a bowl of purple hull peas.

Scott

[Doublej]

Cook in cast iron means what? On the stove top over medium heat?

[chester_audio]

I suggest pouring into a cast iron skillet that is moderately heating on the stove top, then into the oven. We've found it helps brown the bottom, if you like that.

One of my favorite meals to this day: beans, cornbread, fried potatoes. I gain a few pounds just thinking about it.

[S Clark]

Cook in cast iron means what? On the stove top over medium heat?

Sorry for being incomplete. Chester has it right.  Pour into a stovetop heated skillet and cook in the oven at 400 F- usually 15-20 minutes or until top begins to brown. The bottom will have a nice brown crust.

[rockadanny]

And the obvious choice of music while making it is ...  drum roll please ... Lee Morgan, "Cornbread", of course 

[lonewolfny42]

And the obvious choice of music while making it is ...  drum roll please ... Lee Morgan, "Cornbread", of course 

Naaaa....you need Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers to make really good....Cornbread.. 

[Rob Babcock]

When I make cornbread is really is corn cake!  I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I'm far enough north that it's gotta be sweet.

[SlushPuppy]

What Konut said.  Southern style is great for eating with chili or soups or adding savory ingredients like jalapenos, onions or bell peppers.  Though I've lived in Boston for the last 10 years I'm from Georgia and I've never really like southern style cornbread by itself.  I've always had to add tons of butter to moisten it up.  I much prefer northern style when eating it by itself (my family down south doesn't approve   )

Here's a good 'n easy recipe for northern style cornbread.

1 cup butter
1 & 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups yellow corn meal
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Melt butter, stir in sugar and then eggs, buttermilk and soda.  Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until just blended.  Pour into 9X13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.



Another way to cook southern style c bread so it's not so dry is to pour the mix into 3-4" rounds (like pancakes) in a cast iron skillet with 1/4 " oil.  Fry until golden and flip.  Use a buttermilk batter for this style.  My mother usually uses a buttermilk cornbread mix and adds some flour to it (2 to 1, mix to flour).

I bet that would go great with BBQ'd pork ribs 

[chester_audio]

You bet yer pork butt it does! 

That's my third fav hobby behind audio and woodworking. BBQ  I'm from the south, so its in my blood.

Weber Smokey Mountain w/Stoker control.

[SlushPuppy]

You bet yer pork butt it does! 

That's my third fav hobby behind audio and woodworking. BBQ  I'm from the south, so its in my blood.

Weber Smokey Mountain w/Stoker control.

I've been in in the south (southeastern Texas) for almost four years. I got some great advice after we moved here and purchased a Gig Green Egg on a friends' recommendation. Now that my BBQ skills have improved I'm looking for more side-dishes to try. Cornbread looks like a good place to start. Great thread 

[Eric]

I've been in in the south (southeastern Texas) for almost four years. I got some great advice after we moved here and purchased a Gig Green Egg on a friends' recommendation. Now that my BBQ skills have improved I'm looking for more side-dishes to try. Cornbread looks like a good place to start. Great thread 

I own a Primo XL oval which is essentially the same as a BGE. I cook almost everything for the meal on the grill, when I cook on the Primo. I have doen beans, bakers, pizza, veggies, and even fruit on the Primo

[Ericus Rex]

I've been in in the south (southeastern Texas) for almost four years. I got some great advice after we moved here and purchased a Gig Green Egg on a friends' recommendation. Now that my BBQ skills have improved I'm looking for more side-dishes to try. Cornbread looks like a good place to start. Great thread 

Tried hush huppies yet?