Corn bread with delicious and crunchy bits of cracklins! A true New Year’s tradition.
After having made corn muffins a few times with a bit of sugar in them (although I wouldn’t say they were the kind that were cake-like sweet), it is only fitting that I offer those friends a bit of the true south with some corn bread with NO SUGAR, a bit of cracklins (fresh pork rinds), and bacon grease.
Yeah, you heard me right. That’s crunc-chee bay-kon.
Well not really bacon, but it adds a bacon flavor to the bread with a bit of nut-like character. Think of it as bacon-pecans. YUM!
I made this bread as a part of a New year’s meal (which I am having a wee bit early, btw) that included Hoppin’ John.
The corn bread i did bake in a 10-inch seasoned cast-iron skillet, which I thinks adds a superior result and more crunch to the crust. But you can also make this in a cake pan.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pork crackings
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large pastured eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup melted and cooled bacon grease or unsalted butter
Method:
- preheat oven to 425F.
- Grease a ten-inch cast iron skillet and set aside.
- Stir together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another small bowl, stir together the beaten eggs, buttermilk and cooled bacon grease.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the buttermilk mix, stirring just until the flour is incorporated.
- Fold in the cracklings.
- Pour mixture into the greased skillet and bake for 20-22 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Slice and serve warm.
Yield: 8 servings
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