Cast Iron Cornbread, Done Right

I buy cornbread at the grocery store bakery sometimes, and I watch people choose the ones studded with corn kernels and jalapeños, the ones that taste like someone sweetened the batter with a cup of sugar. They're fine if you want cake that happens to taste like corn. That's not cornbread.

Real cornbread tastes like corn. It has a crisp, browned crust where it hit the hot pan. The crumb is tender but not cakey, with a slight grittiness from the cornmeal that you feel on your tongue. You eat it with chili or collards or eggs, not as dessert.

The only tool that matters for this is cast iron. I use a 10-inch skillet, the kind your grandmother probably had. You need one because you're going to preheat it in a 425-degree oven until it's screaming hot. That heat and the fat in the pan create the crust that makes cornbread worth eating.

Here's what I do: Mix one cup cornmeal, one cup all-purpose flour, one tablespoon sugar, one teaspoon salt, and one teaspoon baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk two eggs with one and a quarter cups buttermilk and two tablespoons of melted butter. Stir the wet into the dry until you have a smooth batter. Don't overmix.

Get that cast iron hot. I put two tablespoons of butter in it and let it brown slightly. The moment the butter stops foaming, pour the batter in. You'll hear it sizzle. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the top is pale golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

When you pull it from the oven, the bottom should be dark brown and crisp. You can tell because you'll hear it crackle when you set the hot pan on the counter. That's the sound of cornbread done right.

Slice it into wedges still warm from the pan. The butter has soaked into the crumb. Eat it with your hands, with good butter and maybe a pinch of sea salt if you want it. Don't wrap it up and save it for later. Cornbread is best the hour it comes out of the pan, when the contrast between the crust and the interior still matters.

Your cast iron will develop a seasoning from this, too. That's what happens when you use it. Don't wash it with soap. Wipe it clean while it's still warm, rub it with a thin coat of oil, and put it away. Next time you make cornbread, the pan will be that much better.