I learned how to make cornbread by watching my Grandma. She worked in her small, crowded kitchen, which also served as the dining room, making lunch every day for Grandpa and anyone else who happened to be around at lunchtime.
My grandfather was a farmer, and farming is hard work. Every day, at about 11:30, he and the other workers would take their lunch break. On the farm, lunch and breakfast were always the big meals of the day.
Southern Cornbread Like Grandma Made
Of course, breakfast was served early, so lunch came early. And after lunch you know what my grandfather did before going back to work? He watched a soap opera.....As The World Turns. I can still remember Lisa and Bob.
Good memories, but I guess I should get to the cornbread making. What I enjoyed best about watching Grandma make cornbread was pouring the sizzling hot grease into the mixture.
Hot grease and a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet are a must for making the best cornbread. I make my cornbread like Grandma, which means I don't measure the ingredients.
Once you make the recipe enough, you can do that, too. As is true of many recipes, the ingredients in this cornbread recipe don't have to be measured out exactly to the T.
I normally use an 8-inch cast iron skillet for my cornbread, but when I use my 9-inch skillet, I add a bit more buttermilk and cornmeal mix and still use one egg and the same amount of grease.
But because I am sharing this recipe with you, I purposely measured everything out so I could write up the recipe.
Cornmeal Mix Cornbread Recipe
For this recipe, I used cornmeal mix and I normally spell cornmeal as one word but the packaging on this brand says Corn Meal. No need to use flour, cornmeal, and baking powder when you can have it all in one package. Cornmeal mix also contains salt but I like to add a bit extra to my cornbread.
Buttermilk For The Best Cornbread
Buttermilk is my and my grandma's preference over whole milk.
Mix all the ingredients together except for the hot bacon grease. The grease should be in the iron skillet in the oven, getting sizzling hot while you gather the other ingredients and mix the batter.
I set my oven on 420 degrees but each oven cooks differently so you may need to adjust your oven temperature up or down.
The Hot Grease
The photo above shows how the grease sizzles and bubbles when poured into the batter. When the temperature is just right, you can hear the sizzle when the hot grease hits the batter. Bacon grease is the best, but you can always use cooking oil.
Pour your batter into the iron skillet and set on the middle rack in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes.
Oh, doesn't that cornbread look yummy!
The Cast Iron Skillet
Cook the cornbread long enough to make the bottom nice and crispy.
And the inside is cooked through and through.
See how clean that iron skillet looks? Do not wash it in soap and water. Just wipe it out with a paper towel, and it's ready to use again.
Southern Cornbread Recipe With No Sugar
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups self-rising cornmeal mix
11/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 -4 tablespoons of bacon grease or cooking oil
Instructions:
Heat oven to 410
While the oven is heating, pour the bacon grease into the iron skillet and set the skillet in the oven.
Combine cornmeal mix, salt, and baking soda in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Add beaten egg and buttermilk and mix thoroughly with a spoon or whisk.
Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the grease into the cornbread mixture, stirring quickly to incorporate the grease.
Pour the mix into the hot iron skillet and return to the oven.
Cook for 30 minutes or until brown on top and crispy on the bottom.
Notes
It is important that your iron skillet be well seasoned to prevent the cornbread from sticking to your pan.
The grease should sizzle when poured into the cornbread mixture. If it isn’t hot enough, return it to the oven and heat until it sizzles when it hits the cornbread mixture. The hot skillet ensures the cornbread crust will be crispy and the bread will release easily from the pan.
Add an additional ¼ cup of buttermilk to make the cornbread texture softer and moister.
Run a dinner knife (dull knife) between the cornbread and the sides of the skillet and lift gently. If it feels like the cornbread is sticking to the bottom of the pan, run the knife or a small spatula under it to loosen it from the pan.
Turn the crispy side of the cornbread up on the plate and slice it into quarters. Do not butter the crispy side of the cornbread (my granddaughter does this, and it ruins the crispiness).
Butter the top of the cornbread or the center by cutting it into the pie-shaped wedge.
I like to cut the crispy end from my cornbread wedge and butter the cut side. I get this from my Dad.
Serving The Cornbread
Cut the cornbread into pie-shaped wedges.
Butter the top or the middle, or do like my Dad and me and cut the crispy end from your wedge and butter the cut side. The crispy part is the best.
Or maybe you don't like your cornbread buttered. My husband loves to crumble a piece of cornbread into a glass of milk. Not me. I don't like milk.
Grandma's Southern Cornbread Recipe With No Sugar
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Author: Recipe Idea Shop
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups self-rising cornmeal mix
- 11/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ teaspoon salt omit if you don't like extra salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3-4 tablespoons bacon grease or cooking oil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 410
- While the oven is heating pour grease into the iron skillet and set the skillet in the oven.
- Combine corn meal mix, salt, and baking soda in medium size mixing bowl.
- Add beaten egg and buttermilk and mix thoroughly with spoon or whisk.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the grease into the cornbread mixture, stirring quickly to incorporate the grease.
- Pour the mix into the hot iron skillet and return to the oven.
- Cook for 30 minutes or until brown on top and crispy on the bottom.
Notes
The grease should sizzle when poured into the cornbread mixture. If the grease isn’t hot enough return to the oven and heat until it sizzles when it hits the cornbread mixture. The hot skillet ensures the cornbread crust will be crispy and the bread will release easily from the pan.
Add an additional ¼ cup buttermilk to make the cornbread texture softer and moister.
Run a dinner knife (dull knife) between the cornbread and the sides of the skillet and lift gently. If the cornbread feels like it is sticking to the bottom of the pan run the knife or a small spatula under the cornbread to loosen it from the pan.
Turn the cornbread crispy side up on the plate and slice into quarters. Do not butter the crispy side of the cornbread (my granddaughter does this and it ruins the crispiness).
Butter the top of the cornbread, or the center by cutting into the pie shaped wedge.
I like to cut the crispy end from my cornbread wedge and butter the cut side. I get this from my Dad.
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I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Kathy acquired the blog, Recipe Idea Shop in 2024. She was raised on a farm in Arkansas where having a big garden and good food to eat was the norm. She shares recipes for homemade comfort food and new trending dishes.
