Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread
Fri, Jan 29, 2010
Baking, Bread, Rolls and Biscuits, Featured Articles, Recipes
Growing up in Texas, cornbread was something we ate almost weekly.
Mom would almost always make her cornbread in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. That skillet gave the the cornbread a lovely crust on the bottom and I would always pick off the crusty bottom before eating the tender center. We never got fancy with the cornbread. We usually had regular cornbread, but on occasion we would have sweet.
Now that I am making the meals I still bake my cornbread in a cast iron skillet, but I like to tinker with my cornbread recipe. The recipe that follows was perhaps the most popular I have ever made with the men in my life. It has bacon, jalapenos, and sharp cheddar cheese, all of which add a lot of flavor. The cheese, in particular, makes the already fluffy cornbread crumb almost creamy while still very light. Serve up wedges of this cornbread with a hearty chili, some fried chicken, or all on its own. It doesn’t even need butter!
Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar Cornbread Serves 8
3 ounces all-purpose flour
3ounces yellow cornmeal
1 ounce sugar
1/3 ounce baking powder
1/2 ounce non-fat dry milk
1 egg
5 1/2 ounces buttermilk
1/4 ounce honey
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 strips crisp cooked bacon, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
1 tablespoon bacon fat
Heat the oven to 350 F and place a 10 1/2-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat.
In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat dry milk until well combined.
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, honey, and melted butter.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then add the bacon, jalapeno, and shredded cheese, and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
Pull the hot skillet out of the oven and brush with the bacon fat, then pour the cornbread mixture in the pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the cornbread springs back in the center when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan for ten minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
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Tags: Bacon, bread, Buttermilk, cast iron, cheddar Cheese, Cornbread, Jalapeno, quick bread, Southern
Mmmm. Looks and sounds great. I could think of so many things to serve this beautiful cornbread with. Thx for sharing!
Mmmm…..love good cornbread. And this looks better than good, looks AMAZING!
A somewhat odd combination. I love jalapeno and bacon but not really a big fan of corn bread.
Maybe 2good+1bad=good?
Can’t believe I’ve never tried cornbread. Looks so good!
I think you can put just about anything in cornbread and it is just great – like nibblet corn, jalapena and green onions the most…
looks really moist. will go so well with stews in winter.
Um, yeah. Excuse me while I die forever trying to imagine how good this cornbread probably is.
I’m going to try this recipe right now
Very nice, I like the addition of bacon to the corn bread. Sounds like it would be great with chili. Thanks for the recipe.
Am loving this and can see myself making this with our latest batch of homecured pancetta!
I love this recipe looks so delicious
I jumped here from Tasty Kitchen and was hoping to find out if you have the conversions from ounces to tsp/Tbs/cups for the dry ingredients.
I’m old school that way. (Also, I don’t have a scale.)
I love a good savory, hearty cornbread. And aren’t cast iron skillets the best! The last forever, work like a charm and are so inexpensive.
Not sure how I missed this one! Looks amazing. I finally bought a cast iron skillet (not sure why I didn’t have one for so long), so I’m excited to find more ways to use it. I’ll surely give this a try!
OMG, this looks and sounds AMAZING! I’m a corn bread addict and I agree that the best way to make it is in a cast iron skillet. I usually add a small can of creamed corn to my recipe to help keep it moist and for some extra eye appeal (I love the look of whole kernels of corn in my cornbread). I plan to try your recipe tonight with the big batch of chili I just made. THANKS!
I know how special the cast iron skillet can make cornbread, but I wonder if this would work in muffin tins?