Southern-Style Cornbread

From America’s Test Kitchen

We doubled this recipe for a 12-inch cast iron skillet. It’s so good
and there’s no flour in it.

Southern-Style Cornbread

Unlike its sweet, cakey Northern counterpart, Southern cornbread is
thin, crusty, and decidedly savory. Though some styles of Southern
cornbread are dry and crumbly, I favor this dense, moist, tender
version. Cornmeal mush of just the right texture is essential to this
bread. Though I prefer to make cornbread in a preheated cast-iron
skillet, a 9-inch round cake pan or 9-inch square baking pan, greased
lightly with butter and not preheated, will also produce acceptable
results if you double the recipe and bake the bread for 25 minutes.

makes one 8-inch skillet of bread

4 teaspoons bacon drippings or 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1
teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup yellow cornmeal preferably stone ground
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup water (rapidly boiling)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg beaten lightly

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 450
degrees. Set 8-inch cast-iron skillet with bacon fat (or vegetable
oil) in heating oven.

2. Measure 1/3 cup cornmeal into medium bowl. Mix remaining cornmeal,
sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in small bowl; set aside.

3. Pour boiling water all at once into the 1/3 cup cornmeal; stir to
make a stiff mush. Whisk in buttermilk gradually, breaking up lumps
until smooth, then whisk in egg. When oven is preheated and skillet
very hot, stir dry ingredients into mush mixture until just moistened.
Carefully remove skillet from oven. Pour hot bacon fat (or melted
butter) from the skillet into the batter and stir to incorporate, then
quickly pour batter into heated skillet. Bake until golden brown,
about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and instantly turn cornbread onto
wire rack; cool for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.