Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread

This is a savory Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread.  Cornbread in the South is usually made without sugar and flour. I wanted to make a cornbread that was savory, with hearty corn flavor and after looking through one of my favorite books, I found this recipe.  

I love eating cornbread right out of the oven with a little butter on top and a nice cup of coffee.  This is not a mix from a box, this is made from scratch and it's really yummy.  

If you never had Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread, give it a try, it's really delicious.  If you prefer a little sweetness then you can add about 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Toasting the cornmeal in the oven intensifies the corn flavor.  The cornbread is moist and it has a beautiful dark brown crust.  If you don't have a 10-inch cast iron skillet you can use any ovensafe 10-inch skillet.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups cornmeal-finely ground

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 tbsp butter

2 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Heat 10-inch cast iron skillet on middle rack for 10 minutes.  Spread cornmeal over rimmed baking sheet and bake on lower middle rack until fragrant and color begins to deepen, about 5 minutes.  Transfer hot cornmeal to large bowl and whisk in buttermilk, set aside.

Carefully add oil to hot skillet and continue to bake until oil is just smoking, about 5 minutes.  remove skillet from oven and add butter, carefully swirling pan until butter is melted.  Pour all but 1 tbsp oil mixture into cornmeal mixture, leaving remaining oil mixture in pan  Whisk eggs, baking powder, baking soda and salt into cornmeal mixture.

Pour cornmeal mixture into hot skillet and bake until top begins to crack and sides are golden brown, 12 to 16 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.  Let cornmeal cook in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack.  Serve.

Tip:  If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute clabbered milk; whisk 2 tbsp lemon juice and 2 cups of milk.  Let the mixture sit until-slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Source: The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook