Another Thanksgiving recipe: cornbread

November 25, 12:10 PMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

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Cornbread, as God intended.

Most of the cornbread I encounter is too sweet or cakey in texture. Typically, they come from a mix like Jiffy or Aunt Jemima. I’m of the firm opinion cornbread should taste of corn, not be too sweet, and have a good, gritty bite. And it shouldn’t come from a box.

This recipe, although easy to make, has a few ground rules: it must be cooked in a hot iron skillet (preheating the skillet gives the cornbread a crispy crust, vital to the integrity of anything claiming to be cornbread) and it must be made with a coarsely ground meal, another key ingredient in the bread’s texture. Also, the liquid ingredients should equal the dry ingredients in volume. If you have less than two cups of liquid, add a little more buttermilk or melted butter until you have two full cups. Finally, when it comes time to stir the ingredients together, mix them until the corn meal mixture is just moistened. Vigorous stirring for too long will begin to release gluten from the wheat flour, resulting in a tougher texture.

1 ¼ cup polenta or coarse grind cornmeal
¾ cups flour
1 cup buttermilk or clabbered whole milk (See info box at bottom)
2 large eggs
3 tbsp butter
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

Preheat oven to 400.

• Begin melting butter in iron skillet over a moderate flame.
• Combine polenta, flour, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a large mixing bowl.
• In a smaller bowl, mix together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter (When you’ve poured the butter from the skillet, return the skillet to the burner over a low flame. You want to keep the skillet hot.)
• Using a rubber spatula, stir liquid ingredients into the cornmeal mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are just moistened.
• Turn off the flame beneath the skillet and pour the batter in the pan; the batter should sizzle when it hits the skillet. Place filled skillet into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is golden.
• When the bread is only just too hot to handle with your fingers comfortably, cut into pieces, and then split one piece open for yourself. Spread lavishly with butter and enjoy.