Oven-fried cornbread
I finally remembered to take pictures as I baked something!
Oven-fried cornbread is one of my specialties. My father's mother taught my mother how to make this and in turn my mother taught me. So now I am sharing with y'all!
Preheat oven to 450f and move the top rack as high as it will go.
What you will need:
3 cups yellow or white* self-rising cornmeal
1 egg
1 heaping dollop mayonnaise
a pinch or two of salt
buttermilk**
vegetable oil
butter
* I prefer white cornmeal because it's more tender and cakelike when baked. Yellow produces a coarser texture and more intense cornbread taste. Either works with this recipe and is a matter of personal taste.
** Use whole cultured buttermilk if available. It has a much richer taste.
The true star of this very tasty cornbread is a well seasoned cast iron skillet. As you can see my skillet is well loved and quite old. It was my grandmother's and then my mother's. I make only two things in this particular cast iron skillet - oven-fried cornbread and upside-down pineapple cake.
To get started, use enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. I like to add slivered pats of butter as you can see below.
Pop that in the oven to get hot while you prepare the batter. You will know when it's done when all of the butter has started to brown and you can hear the oil sizzling in the oven.
While the oil is heating, combine the cornmeal, salt, egg, mayonnaise and buttermilk in a large bowl.
I don't give exact measurements on the buttermilk because it's different each time I make it. Just keep adding buttermilk, making sure to combine it thoroughly after each addition, until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
When the oil is hot and the butter has browned, pull the skillet from the oven. Be very careful because the it is SUPER HOT.
Stir the batter once more before adding to the hot oil. It sometimes thickens if it sits more than five minutes. You might need to add a bit more buttermilk to thin it.
Return the pan to the top rack of the oven and bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Pour off any excess vegetable oil before turning the cornbread out onto a plate. Be sure to hold the bread in the pan as you do this or else it'll slide right out. The cornbread will not stick if you've used enough vegetable oil and should turn right out on a plate.
Behold! A pone of oven-fried cornbread in all of its golden brown glory!
My dinner tonight consisted of pinto beans and rice and a slice of cornbread. It was nummy in my tummy!
Enjoy!
Thank you, persephone33 for all your baking/cooking posts that finally inspired me to do one of my own.
Oven-fried cornbread is one of my specialties. My father's mother taught my mother how to make this and in turn my mother taught me. So now I am sharing with y'all!
Preheat oven to 450f and move the top rack as high as it will go.
What you will need:
3 cups yellow or white* self-rising cornmeal
1 egg
1 heaping dollop mayonnaise
a pinch or two of salt
buttermilk**
vegetable oil
butter
* I prefer white cornmeal because it's more tender and cakelike when baked. Yellow produces a coarser texture and more intense cornbread taste. Either works with this recipe and is a matter of personal taste.
** Use whole cultured buttermilk if available. It has a much richer taste.
The true star of this very tasty cornbread is a well seasoned cast iron skillet. As you can see my skillet is well loved and quite old. It was my grandmother's and then my mother's. I make only two things in this particular cast iron skillet - oven-fried cornbread and upside-down pineapple cake.
To get started, use enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. I like to add slivered pats of butter as you can see below.
Pop that in the oven to get hot while you prepare the batter. You will know when it's done when all of the butter has started to brown and you can hear the oil sizzling in the oven.
While the oil is heating, combine the cornmeal, salt, egg, mayonnaise and buttermilk in a large bowl.
I don't give exact measurements on the buttermilk because it's different each time I make it. Just keep adding buttermilk, making sure to combine it thoroughly after each addition, until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.
When the oil is hot and the butter has browned, pull the skillet from the oven. Be very careful because the it is SUPER HOT.
Stir the batter once more before adding to the hot oil. It sometimes thickens if it sits more than five minutes. You might need to add a bit more buttermilk to thin it.
Return the pan to the top rack of the oven and bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Pour off any excess vegetable oil before turning the cornbread out onto a plate. Be sure to hold the bread in the pan as you do this or else it'll slide right out. The cornbread will not stick if you've used enough vegetable oil and should turn right out on a plate.
Behold! A pone of oven-fried cornbread in all of its golden brown glory!
My dinner tonight consisted of pinto beans and rice and a slice of cornbread. It was nummy in my tummy!
Enjoy!
Thank you, persephone33 for all your baking/cooking posts that finally inspired me to do one of my own.