Bread
Honey Cast Iron Cornbread
Sweetened with raw honey and baked in a screaming-hot skillet of lard for a crisp, golden crust.
35 min · Easy
Bread · · By Ashley
Jalapeño Cheddar Skillet Cornbread
A crumb that holds up when it is dunked in a heavy bowl of chili, and a bottom fried crisp in hot cast iron.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 27 min
- Total
- 42 min
- Serves
- 8 wedges
- Level
- Easy
Where the time goes
42 min, mostly waiting
- Hands-on
- Hands-off
- 01Hands-offHeat the skillet in the oven · while you mix15 min
- 02Hands-onMix the batter10 min
- 03Hands-onMelt the butter in the skillet1 min
- 04Hands-offBake20 to 22 min
- 05Hands-offCool in the skillet5 min
The story
This is the cornbread I make to go with my Buckeye Woodsman's Deer Chili, so it has to survive being dunked in something thick and heavy. Good milling makes a real difference to the structure. I use King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour and King Arthur Organic Yellow Corn Meal, which keeps the grain intact, for a crumb that won't turn to mush in the bowl.
Bake it in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Heavy iron holds an intense heat, and with the butter in the pan it fries the bottom edge into a shatteringly crisp, golden-brown crust.
Ingredients
Serves 8 wedges
Tap an ingredient to check it off.
If you haven't got it
- King Arthur Organic Yellow Corn Meal — any good stone-ground yellow cornmeal
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Heat the skillet
Set a 10-inch cast iron skillet on the middle rack and heat the oven to 425°F / 218°C with the skillet inside.
A properly hot skillet is what gives you the crisp outer crust.
Mix the dry and wet
In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until no white or yellow streaks remain. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, the 6 tbsp of melted butter and the honey.
Make the batter
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the cheddar and the diced jalapeño.
King Arthur flour has a strong protein structure, so don't overmix or the cornbread loses its tender texture.
The butter sizzle
With a heavy mitt, pull the skillet out of the oven. Drop in the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and swirl until it melts, foams and coats the bottom and sides.
Bake
Pour the batter straight into the sizzling skillet. It should crackle the moment it hits. Smooth the top, press the jalapeño wheels gently into the surface, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
The finish
Let it cool in the skillet for 5 minutes so the bottom crust sets, then cut into thick wedges and serve warm next to the chili.
Things worth knowing
- Keep a mitt on the skillet handle the whole time. It stays dangerously hot long after it leaves the oven.
Credits and sources
- Made withKing Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour(opens in a new tab)
- Made withKing Arthur Organic Yellow Corn Meal(opens in a new tab)listed with their bakery range
Ingredients · 42 min · Serves 8 wedges
- 1½ cupsKing Arthur Organic Yellow Corn Meal
- ½ cupKing Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tbspbaking powder
- 1 tspbaking soda
- 1 tspsalt
- 1½ cupsfull-fat buttermilk
- 2 largeeggs
- 6 tbspunsalted butter
- 1 cupsharp cheddar
- 2fresh jalapeños
- 1 tbsphoney
Keep cooking
More bread- Soups
The Buckeye Woodsman's Fire-Roasted Deer Chili
My signature fall chili: ground venison seared in bacon fat, three rounds of jalapeño, an Ohio amber ale, and a touch of maple syrup to cut the gaminess.
6 hr 50 min · Easy
- Grilling
Smoked Burgundy-Style Baby Bellas
Whole baby bellas smoked in a cast iron skillet with red wine, butter, garlic and onion, then reduced to a glossy mahogany glaze. The ultimate ribeye steak topper.
1 hr 35 min · Easy
Made this one?
I send a new recipe most weeks, plus whatever went sideways in the kitchen that week.