Southern Cornbread

[mamster]

Southern Cornbread

Note: Of course, it's hard to argue the Puritanism of this recipe when it has cheese and bacon it in, but the Puritans lived in the North, right? If this is your first experience with Southern cornbread, leave out the bacon bits and cheese, and commune with corn.

• 2 strips bacon
  
• 4 oz white flint cornmeal (see note)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  
• 3/4 c buttermilk
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 oz cheddar cheese, grated
  

1. Fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Pour 1 tbsp of the fat through a sieve into an 8" cast-iron skillet. You could, of course, cook the bacon in the cast iron, but I find it leaves behind microscopic bacon nodules, which burn.

2. Place the cast-iron skillet in the oven and set the temperature to 425 F.

3. Chop or crumble the bacon into small bits. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk the egg and buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup.

4. When your oven claims to be preheated, give it five more minutes with the skillet inside. Pour the liquid ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients and give a few turns with a whisk to combine. Let sit for one minute.

5. Remove the skillet from the oven and slosh the grease around carefully to coat the bottom and sides. Pour the batter into the skillet and return to the oven.

6. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert immediately onto a plate. Bisect the cornbread parallel to the plate like a layer cake. Remove the top layer, add a layer of cheese, and replace the layer of bread. Serve immediately, crisp side up (it doesn't look as nice but stays crispier).

Acquiring white flint cornmeal: Morgan's Mills (207-785-4900), of Maine, has five-pound bags for just under $20 with USPS shipping.

Keywords: Side, Bread, American, The Daily Gullet

( RG504 )