The Cast-Iron Cornbread That Deserves the Last Pat of Butter

Buy a medium-grind yellow cornmeal for this—not corn flour, not the suspiciously sweet boxed mix that tastes like a cupcake wearing a cowboy hat. You’ll also need all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, an egg, buttermilk, and butter. If you have bacon drippings, use a spoonful in the pan. I’m not saying it makes you a better person, but it does make better cornbread.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees and put a 9-inch cast-iron skillet inside while it heats. Yes, inside. The pan needs to become hot enough that the batter begins cooking the instant it lands. Cast iron is not merely cookware; it is a little edible-weather machine for making crust.

In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, beat 1 egg with 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and 4 tablespoons melted butter. Stir the wet mixture into the dry just until no dry pockets remain. A few lumps are fine. Overmixing gives you cornbread with the personality of a rubber eraser.

Take out the hot skillet carefully—this is where the oven mitt earns its keep—and add 1 tablespoon butter or bacon drippings. Swirl it over the bottom and up the sides. Pour in the batter. It should hiss gently at the edges. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Here’s what happens if you skip preheating the skillet: the cornbread may still bake, technically, but the edges will be pale and soft instead of crisp and craggy. You’ll have made a pan of corn-flavored bread, not skillet cornbread. Likewise, if you stir until perfectly smooth, the middle tightens up. Stop when the batter looks lumpy and slightly unfinished. It knows what it’s doing.

Let it cool for five minutes, then cut it into wedges. The crust should crackle when you bite it; the center should be moist, crumbly, and faintly tangy from the buttermilk. Serve it warm with beans, chili, greens, or a fried egg. And put the butter on the table. Cornbread without butter is just a meeting that could have been an email.