It’s a reality that we all have to accept, there is no real BBQ without cornbread! Not trying to confrontational or cause friction, but you cannot enjoy a proper grilled dish without this Southern delight.
This sweet yellowish sweet bread, freshly backed, will spice up even the most basic of grilling dishes that you might prepare. What’s even better, it will impress your family and neighbors if you whip it up on your grill. They will worship your BBQ apron and tools, and serve you cold beers for life.
Cornbread has evolved over the centuries, from being a simple tortilla made by the Aztecs and Mayans. They ground the corn into meal and made (I’m sure) very nice tortillas with freshly caught fish or slow-roasted game.
It was, and perhaps still is, widely used side dish in middle and southern America, and slowly made its way into the Southern states of the US, and moving across most of North America.
Once it was introduced to the Southern states of the US, it began to change shape, consistency, new ingredients, and flavors. It turned into something amazing as the locals experimented by adding other ingredients such as buttermilk, sugar, baking soda, and eggs to the paste. It slowly transformed into a fluffy sweet bread.
The best way to make cornbread is by baking it in a cast-iron pan, on your grill or in your conventional oven.
A healthy competition has started at the Viking household, where my wonderful South American wife is trying to claim that her cornbread is best. The Heart Warrior is obviously accepting the challenge and decided to share my attempt.
Please note – my recipe does not use buttermilk, which is a commonly used ingredient.
Preparing, mixing, and baking my cornbread shouldn’t take more than 30-40 minutes, start to finish, including baking time.
Preheat your oven or Traeger pellet grill to 400F
Here’s what you need for a single batch of cornbread, baked in a 9″ round cast iron pan.
- 1 cup of regular flour
- 1 cup of yellow cornmeal
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup of milk (of your choice) – I used Almond milk
Mixing all the ingredients is easier than measuring it all out.
- Throw all your dry ingredients (flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder) into a mid-sized mixing bowl
- Gently mix the dry ingredients together, just for 1 minute, to combine them
- Add the wet ingredients (oil, egg, and milk), and mix to a paste
- Grease your castiron pan well, and sprinkle in some yellow cornmeal as an extra cover.
- Pour in the paste and make sure it is spread well
- Bake your cornbread creation for about 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden
Let it cool off a few minutes, but serve it warm.
[…] All in the name of excelling the grilling experiences, perfecting the cooking of meats. It also involved baking bread, such as corn tortilla and cornbreads. […]