Basic Corn Bread

By norsegal8

Most self-respecting Southerners wouldn't admit to adding sugar to cornbread, but it is both acceptable and good in New Orleans. Granddaddy never put sugar in his, but I find that I can omit the sugar and still have it taste right only when I use a fine-ground white organic cornmeal such as that milled by my friends at McEwen's in Wilsonville, Alabama. Make sure the skillet is so hot that the batter begins to fry when you pour it into the pan.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons bacon fat
• 1 cup white cornmeal (coosavalleymilling.com)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

Step 1

1. Put the bacon fat into a medium cast-iron skillet. Put the skillet into the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cayenne in a large mixing bowl.

3. Put the eggs milk, and melted butter into a small bowl and mix well.

4. Pour the egg mixture into the cornmeal mixture, stirring until just combined.

5. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour the batter into the skillet. Return the skillet to the oven and bake until the cornbread is deep golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.