Cornbread - blue ribbon - lightly sweet and crusty


 
K

Keri C

TVWBB Wizard
Keri's Cornbread
(1st place, OK State Fair in Tulsa, 2002)

1 1/2 cups plain cornmeal (not cornmeal mix or self-rising)
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder, preferably Rumford
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar (to 1/2 cup)
1 1/4 cup milk (fat-free works fine)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (can cut to 1/4 cup if desired)
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400, placing pans in oven while it heats. I use 2 cast iron stick pans, 1 cast aluminum stick pan, and 1 non-stick scone pan, as seen in the picture at the link below.

Blend dry ingredients in large bowl. Blend milk, oil, and eggs, and add to dry ingredients. Blend till all is combined.

Remove hot pans from the oven one at a time, and slip a small amount of Crisco or bacon grease (say about 1/4 tsp or so) into each stick form, brushing it to cover all surfaces well. Place back in oven for a few minutes - you want these puppies HOT. Remove pan from oven, set on heat-proof surface, and, using a tablespoon from your silverware drawer, put a generous spoonful of batter into each form. You should have enough batter for 24 cornsticks and 8 thin crusty wedges.

Bake at 400 until golden brown on the tops, about 15 minutes for the sticks and about 20 minutes for the wedges. (If you prefer, bake the whole recipe in a 9-inch cast iron skillet for about 30 minutes and just cut into wedges to serve, or just use a 13x9 pan and cut into squares.) To remove from pans, gently ease the tines of a fork under the edges of the cornstick and carefully pry up. If you preheated your pan well and greased it right, it should pop right out. Serve with pinto beans and fried taters, BBQ, or just with a cold glass of sweet milk.

Pictures here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=iyt9005.53rmsl3l&x=0&y=4mgk00
 
All I've got to say is WOW thats some good lookin' corn bread. The next time I make chili that corn bread will be served with it. Thank you Keri. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
And when you have leftover cornbread from the beans and cornbread that you had for Saturday lunch, Sunday dinner gives you an excuse to fire the smoker up again so you can do some turkey to go with the dressing that you made from the leftover cornbread. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Note dish in background, behind turkey breast. Not a very clear shot of the dressing, but it was down right tasty. (The turkey was great, too. I've smoked whole turkeys before, but never just the breast, so I wasn't sure HOW it would turn out. A 36-hour honey brine ensured a nicely seasoned and very juicy piece of meat, though.)

Keri C, Smokin on Tulsa Time


turkey-breast.jpg
 
Keri,

Your cornbread was a hit, thanks! I did it in an iron skillet as you offered for a variation. I have a question though...I only have one cornbread stick pan, would I be able to make them in batches, refilling the pan when the last batch is out, or do you think that: A: they would stick even if I rebrushed with crisco or B: Holding the batter that long would be detrimental to the later batches?
 
I find that holding the batter decreases the rising power. HOWEVER, I use Rumford baking powder, which gives more of its rise immediately upon mixing and less when the heat of the oven hits it. (Rumford does not contain sodium aluminum sulfate, which is what gives baked goods containing baking powder that metallic "whang" that some people taste, including myself. Rumford contains only calcium acid phosphate, baking soda and corn starch.)

When the cornstick pan cools down between batches, you'll stand more of a chance of them sticking. I think I'd fill the one heated cornstick pan and put the rest of the batter in the heated cast iron skillet.

As an aside, did you know that Lodge is making pre-seasoned cast iron cookware now? I had an old cast iron cornstick pan that I COULD NOT get seasoned right, no matter what I did. I ordered 3 of the Lodge Logic cornstick pans, and they were great! They are NOT non-stick - they are PRE-SEASONED, and you have to maintain them as you would any other well-seasoned cast iron implement, but they are perfectly seasoned right out of the box. For my skillets, I prefer my old Griswolds, but for NEW cast iron, the Lodge Logic is some good stuff.

Keri C
Smokin'(and bakin') on Tulsa Time
 
I don't know about pre-seasoned cast iron, but when I bought my last cast iron skillet (non-seasoned) a chef friend of mine took it to his restaurant and put it in the deep fryer for an hour or so and you can almost slide a fried egg across it without sticking. I have no idea what temp his deep fryer was set on, but when I buy a new cast iron pan, I will definately take it to him.
Lane
 
Lane,

You can do the same seasoning of cast iron by putting peanut oil in it to within several inches of the top and bring the oil up to about 400 degrees (do this outside on a burner like one used for a turkey fryer). Keep at this temp for at least an hour and then let it sit and cool down for awhile. Does a great job of seasoning.

While you are doing this, you might as well cook some chicken wings in the oil /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>As an aside, did you know that Lodge is making pre-seasoned cast iron cookware now? I had an old cast iron cornstick pan that I COULD NOT get seasoned right, no matter what I did. I ordered 3 of the Lodge Logic cornstick pans, and they were great! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Keri,

Very reasonable in price...great idea! Would you say that 3 of these pans would handle one of your batches?
 
The recipe above will do three cornstick pans full plus one scone pan full. This is the nonstick scone pan I use, and I love it. Haven't ever used it for scones, though - just those cornbread wedges.

B00008UA3H.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


Go to Amazon.com through Chris's link, and search on the words Nordic Ware Scottish Scone and you can get to it.

Keri C
 
I just want to say, that Keri's Cornbread is the best cornbread that I have ever had.
This recipe makes just the right amount for my #8 (10-inch) Griswold cast iron skillet.
I'm making another batch this morning to have with butter, honey and a cup of coffee.

Thanks for sharing this great recipe.


Rusty
 
Keri, we have used cornbread mixes..Three Rivers Brand. We should branch out and try your corn meal approach.

I enjoy the flavor of good buttermilk (Mayfields) in my cornbread. Have you used it much with any of your cornbreads?
 
Originally posted by Steve Petrone:

I enjoy the flavor of good buttermilk (Mayfields) in my cornbread. Have you used it much with any of your cornbreads?
Click to expand...
Keri, Along with Steve, I would be curious also as to the use of buttermilk in your recipe?
Also I'm wondering how much this rises? I'd like to make it and use my #273 Griswold Crispy Corn stick pan. A TBS. of batter doesn't seem like it would be enough, but I don't want a overflowing mess either.
icon_eek.gif
Thanks
 
When I grab a tablespoon from the silverware drawer to make cornsticks, it isn't a regulation measuring tablespoon. It's a large stainless soup spoon, I suppose you'd call it. When I scoop the thick batter up, it's at least 2 and maybe close to 3 regulation Tbs' worth of batter. When I use my cornstick pans, I fill them maybe a bit over half full, if that helps.

To convert this to buttermilk cornbread, what I've usually done is to drop the oil to a little under 1/4 cup - maybe 3 Tbs. Change the milk to 2 cups of buttermilk, and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda stirring into the buttermilk before blending it in. Everything else I leave the same. The buttermilk version rises a bit more than the milk version. If you're using it in dressing, adjust the sugar to your taste. Leave it out completely if you like, but I like that bit of sweet in my dressing as well as my cornbread. The Rumford baking powder makes a lot of difference to me, as I can taste the metallic whang in all other brands except Rumford.

Keri C
 
Originally posted by Keri C:
When I grab a tablespoon from the silverware drawer to make cornsticks, it isn't a regulation measuring tablespoon. It's a large stainless soup spoon, I suppose you'd call it. When I scoop the thick batter up, it's at least 2 and maybe close to 3 regulation Tbs' worth of batter. When I use my cornstick pans, I fill them maybe a bit over half full, if that helps.

To convert this to buttermilk cornbread, what I've usually done is to drop the oil to a little under 1/4 cup - maybe 3 Tbs. Change the milk to 2 cups of buttermilk, and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda stirring into the buttermilk before blending it in. Everything else I leave the same. The buttermilk version rises a bit more than the milk version. If you're using it in dressing, adjust the sugar to your taste. Leave it out completely if you like, but I like that bit of sweet in my dressing as well as my cornbread. The Rumford baking powder makes a lot of difference to me, as I can taste the metallic whang in all other brands except Rumford.

Keri C
Click to expand...
Thanks Keri, Yes that helps a great deal, a little over half way, that's what I was looking for. Thanks for the buttermilk conversion also. I have a question about cornmeal. Now understand I live in Central PA so cornmeal is what I can find on the grocery store shelf. Is there a big difference in them? Just wondering? I bought a small yellow bag with a Indian portrait on it for my cornmeal. The picture on the bag kind of reminds me of a Indian Head penny.
 
My wife made this last night in a 10 inch wagner frying pan in the oven. Really good! Thank you Keri!

Mike
 
You're just more than welcome, Mike. It's pretty much just plain old cornbread like I grew up with, but I still think a hunk of it crumbled in a glass of cold milk is a major treat.

Always pleased to teach a northerner how to make cornbread!
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Keri C
 
Keri, couldn't help but notice putting cornbread in a glass of mike. I hope that wasn't a typo. It made me think of my Dad (no longer with us) and his chocolate cake. He would cut a slice and shove it in a milk glass, por milk over it and eat it with a spoon. Thanks for the memories. John.
 
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