Cracklin' Corn Bread

Corn bread with delicious and crunchy bits of cracklins! A true New Year’s tradition.
cracklin corn bread

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

cracklin corn bread