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Source

Father Pat


Servings/Yield

8 servings


Course

Main


MacGourmet downloadFather Pat’s Black Skillet Cornbread. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.

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Design: Luka Cvrk, Solucija.com

Father Pat’s Black Skillet Cornbread

I love cornbread. Especially with the chili I cooked up tonight, but that’s a post for another time. So I read a bunch of recipes for cornbread, and saw it made on America’s Test Kitchen (or was it Cook’s Country … same people, so I’m not sure!). I liked some of the things they suggested, like toasting the cornmeal to bring out the corn flavor, and then letting the cornmeal and buttermilk get to know each other for about five minutes, so that the cornmeal hydrates and the batter is moister. But I also wanted a few more things: I wanted to use my nifty black cast iron skillet, because it would brown nice and get all crunchy. That and I wanted cheese and chilis in the bread to add flavor and coordinate with the chili. (Note: the chilis were not spicy at all; they just added a nice, peppery flavor).

So after a bunch of research, here’s what I came up with. Fr. Dan said it was the best cornbread he ever had. Yes, I’ll make it again…

Update 2/1/2011: Upon making this a second time, I realized that I put the melted butter in the ingredients list and not in the directions. My bad; so that’s now fixed. I also ran into a thing where I had very little sugar, so I used honey instead. We’ll see how that goes. Also, since I was re-writing, I decided to put things into the more classical “combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and mix together form,” just in case Bobby Flay ever challenges me to a cornbread throwdown and Food Network wants to publish the recipe for a considerable sum. Right.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fine cornmeal
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or honey)
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 1 can creamed corn, 14 oz.
  • 2 cups grated sharp cheddar
  • 1 can green chilis, (small can)
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat a 10 – 12 inch black cast iron skillet at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the pan and heat 5 minutes more.
2. Pour the cornmeal onto a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. Combine the creamed corn, melted butter, buttermilk, honey or sugar, eggs, and green chilis in a large mixing bowl.
4. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Whisk the cornmeal into the buttermilk and creamed corn mixture and let sit for 5 minutes to hydrate the cornmeal.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the cornmeal mixture and combine well without overworking the batter. Fold in the cheese.
7. Remove skillet from oven and reduce oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Pour batter into skillet and bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is well browned and the bread is firm to the touch.
8. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, remove from pan and slice.

Notes

Great with chili!

Categories

Baked Goods, Side Dishes