Cornbread

 
So, let's chat for a second about cornbread.... It rouses strong opinions here in the South. There's even a whole cornbread cookbook that discusses the histories of various types and their origins; it's a very cool cookbook if, like me, you just use those as light reading! There are also cornbread festivals around the country. Anyway, back to the cornbread debate, you are usually either pro or anti "sweet cornbread" and you probably have an opinion on whether or not cornbread should have flour in it or not. If you are reading this and have no clue what I'm talking about, then you may not be a cornbread connoisseur, but I won't tell anyone. Who knew there could be such a debate over such a simple side?

Well let me clarify a few things...

• "Sweet cornbread" refers to cornbread that has a significant amount of sugar in the batter. By significant, I mean that you can noticeably taste the sugar in the finished product. 
• Cornbread with a significant amount of flour in it has a more cake like consistency; it has a different texture and density that cornmeal based cornbreads.

If either of the above seem to be what you are looking for - you have come to the wrong blog! I am a cornmeal based cornbread girl myself. So for the third installment to the Southern Summer installment, I bring you my version of cornbread!

Notes:

• I prefer to use buttermilk cornmeal.  Any form of cornmeal (you might stay away from self rising, it's a little bit different beast) will work though.
• Making cornbread is all about getting the perfect consistency. It should be a very loose batter, almost looking a little watery, it should not be dense and thick like a cake batter or you will end up with a cornbread brick. As such, my measurements may need to be adjusted a bit depending on your location and such. Begin with the minimum amounts and adjust from there. I have included a picture of the batter, below, to try and convey the consistency to you!

Cornbread
2 T. vegetable or canola oil
1.5 - 2 c. cornmeal
1.75 - 2.25 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1 T sugar

Preheat the oven to 400.

Pour the oil into the castiron skillet and wipe the oil over all of the inside of the skillet. Place the skillet into the oven to preheat while the oven is preheating.

Once the oven / skillet have been at the desired temperature for 5 minutes, mix all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir until just mixed.  Do not over mix. The consistency of cornbread batter is very loose and the most important factor in having successful cornbread, here is a picture of what to shoot for:

Using a sturdy hot grabber, remove the skillet from the pan and pour in the batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cornbread has a nice golden tint to it.

Fun tip: Once it has done cooking, flip the cornbread out onto a plate (or a hat grabber clad hand) and place it back into the skillet face down, so that the heat remaining in the skillet will evenly brown the top.