Crackin' Cornbread

By MarieR

For a real crackle, some of the butter was replaced with bacon fat.

Ingredients

• NOTE: You will need a 10-inch ovensafe skillet for this recipe; for the crunchiest crust, bake the cornbread in a cast-iron pan. Avoid coarsely ground cornmeal, which will make the cornbread too gritty.
• 6 slices bacon, chopped fine
• 2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) cornmeal (see note)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Details

Servings 10
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 31mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cook the bacon in a 10-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off the fat from the skillet, reserving 1/4 cup.
2. Combine the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of the oil, the reserved bacon fat, eggs, and crisp bacon.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Spoon the cornmeal mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, into the skillet. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the top begins to crack and the sides are golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes. Cool the cornbread in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Serve.

NOTES FROM THE TEST KITCHEN
MAKING CRACKLIN' CORNBREAD
If you dump the batter in, the hot oil that's greasing the skillet gets pushed to the edge. Dolloping the batter guarantees the cornbread will release cleanly, even in an underseasoned skillet.
THE BEST VEGETABLE OIL
Today, the average supermarket stocks more than a dozen vegetable oils, from canola to corn to soybean, and blends of one or more oils. Are there any real differences in performance that will matter to the home cook? We tested 10 nationally available vegetable oils (we excluded the harder-to-find, more expensive peanut oil as well as olive oil. which is also more costly and has a lower smoke point) in two applications where differences in taste would be readily apparent—mayonnaise and french fries—and rated them on greasiness (for fries), texture (in mayonnaise), presence of off-flavors (if any), and overall appeal. The top- and bottom-ranked oils were then compared in white cake and vinaigrette recipes. Corn oil had a tendency to stand out—negatively in the mayonnaise and positively in the french fries—but otherwise the results were pretty close. Tasters couldn't even tell the difference between the top and bottom runners in the second round. Our winner by a hair proved to be Crisco Natural Blend Oil.