Cornbread
(Sent Thursday, 03 January 2003)
Mix self rising about 2 cups of self rising
corn meal and 1 cup of buttermilk. Add water until it's about the consistency
of waffle batter.
In a cast iron skillet heat 1 tablespoon
of bacon grease (you have been saving it haven't you). Add corn meal
batter. Bake at 450 until golden brown.
Keep the sugar a long way from the cornbread.
Now you can add other things as it suits you. Peppers, Japelenos, Onion, even corn.
> what the heck is self-rising
corn meal? All we have up here is corn flour, or else a coarse cornmeal
which has a consistency somewhere between sand and small gravel.
ahhh, now we can see where, at least, some of the problems might originate.
what you have there (the coarse meal)
is suitable for hoe cakes or fritters or hush puppies, but not for decent
cornbread.
all is not completely lost, however.
sift the coarse meal to get the pebbles out, mix 2tbsp of self-rising flour
(either wheat or corn), 1/4tsp of baking *powder*, and a pinch of baking
*soda* to one cup of sifted meal, then proceed per minga ... except ... you
need to mix it and let it sit and absorb liquid for 10-15 min, then add more
liquid and beat again.
a mix that is 'too wet' is far preferable than one that is 'too dry'.
And don't forget to get the bacon grease
hot before you add it to the pan. If it's done right it should fry slightly
when the mix is poured into the pan forming the perfect crust.
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