Cornbread Growing up, my Southern Grammy and her side of th..

Cornbread Growing up, my Southern Grammy and her side of the family made cornbread one way, and my Yankee father made it another way. There are two distinct styles: one is more like a pancake, thin and crispy, and the other is baked in a cast iron skillet. Northerners use more sugar in their cornbread, but I’ve adapted my dad’s recipe to use less sugar. If you want cornbread to use for stuffing, you should make the thicccccc kind baked in a skillet, the second recipe listed. Hot water cornbread 2 cups cornmeal 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 1/4 tsp salt 1 Tbsp sugar 1/4 cup half and half 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups boiling water Whisk dry ingredients with half and half and 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, then slowly whisk in hot water until the batter is the consistency of thick grits or polenta. If you use coarsely ground cornmeal, you’ll need more water than with fine ground standard grocery store stuff. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then drop a mound/scoop of batter into hot pan. You can cook several at once, depending on pan size. Cook approx 3 min on each side, or until golden brown on each side, making sure the inside is dry. Serve with melted butter. Skillet Cornbread 2-3 Tbsp bacon fat or vegetable oil, to oil your cast iron skillet. Heat skillet in oven at 450 degrees while you mix your ingredients (approx 5 min) 2 cups buttermilk 1 large egg 1 3/4 cups white cornmeal 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt Whisk together dry ingredients in one bowl and buttermilk + egg in another. Add dry ingredients to wet then mix well. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake at 450 degrees for approx 15 minutes, or until golden brown and dry inside. If you're using this to make stuffing, after it cools, cut it into cubes and leave it out in a tray to dry out. Alternatively you can toast it at a super low oven temp (150-200) until it’s dry and crispy. I normally just leave my cornbread or sourdough for stuffing out on the counter for a couple days and it dries out.