Currently at work there are 3 of us that work in a tiny, windowless room with no supervision. The work’s mind-numbing and easy, leaving plenty of free time for two of us to pressure the third, Jeremy, into making food for us. Jeremy was nice enough to not only bring in a full pan’s worth of cornbread to share, but also took pictures and wrote up a guest post! The cornbread was delicious enough that we didn’t leave him any to bring back home, and the pictures are even more thorough than I usually manage. Without further ado, here’s Jeremy’s post:

Cast Iron Cornbread

This recipe is an adapted version of a recipe given to me when I bought the bag of corn meal from the Grist Mill at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. I have made it several times with little changes in cook time, pan, and ingredients.

The biggest thing you’ll notice is the absence of milk. I have replaced this with a single can of creamed corn to give more corn flavor and to keep the finished product moist. You can include a cup of frozen corn if it strikes your fancy.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 14.5 oz can of creamed corn
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• Bacon Grease (optional)

The first step is to assemble all of your ingredients.

Here are the dry goods measured and waiting.

Melted butter can be substituted with any liquidated cooking fat (Oil, Shortening, Lard).

Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Grease your baking dish (this recipe fits perfectly in 10″ cast iron skillet).

I’m particularly proud of my well seasoned 10” cast iron skillet , which was rescued from a rusty grave at the bottom of a garage. The bucket o’ bacon grease is standard in any southern kitchen, IMHO.

Use a paper towel to spread a healthy layer of bacon grease on the pan (or you can spray Pam on your baking dish if you hate your taste buds).

Sift dry ingredients.

Sift them dry dudes. Please note I use a metal strainer for this task. I got bad hand cramps last time I tried to use my old squeeze handle model. I got fed up and threw it away. This works faster and is easier to clean anyway.

Add wet ingredients.

Put the wet on the dry.

Mix without overworking the batter.

Pour into prepared dish.

Spread that batter evenly, but don’t mind if its sloppy, the rustic look is good.

Bake 25 min, until golden brown.

Put in your preheated oven and wave goodbye.

Hello again golden brown and delicious friend.

Let cool for 10 – 20 minutes and serve warm with butter or honey.

Here is a close up of the dark brown crust underneath that can be seen when the finished cornbread pulls away from the edge of the pan.

Cast Iron Cornbread

From Jeremy.

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 14.5 oz can of creamed corn
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• Bacon Grease (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Grease 10 inch baking dish.

Sift dry ingredients.

Add wet ingredients.

Pour into prepared dish.

Bake 25 min, until golden brown.

Let cool for 10 – 20 minutes and serve warm with butter or honey.