Cornbread with Bacon
Our original idea for Cornbread with Bacon was inspired from a visit to a brewery in Bend, Oregon several summers ago. We cannot for the life of us remember the name of the brewery, but the cornbread was utterly unforgettable. It came to the table in a hot iron skillet and had a crispy bacon crust on the bottom – sorta like upside down bacon corn bread. It was divine.
While we haven’t successfully recreated that recipe (yet!) we are sharing our excellent Cornbread with Bacon recipe that is adapted from “The Good Book of Southern Baking” by Kelly Fields. This is the best cornbread with the softest crumb. And there’s just enough crunch from the cornmeal and the bacon to make your tastebuds beg for more. We highly recommend you eat this cornbread with honey or maple syrup…they really take it to the next level (we’re talking top floor, here!).
Cornbread with Bacon is an excellent accompaniment to barbecue, pulled pork, even scrambled eggs or omelets. It’s also delicious all on its own with a slathering of butter and honey.
Stay safe and eat well!
Jump to Recipe
Whisk the cornmeal mixture with the other wet ingredients…
Mix in the flour…
Finally, fold in the bacon!
Pour batter into preheated pan coated in bacon fat!
Bake until deep golden brown.
We like it drizzled with honey!
Cornbread with Bacon
Ingredients
- ¾ cup corn flour
- ¾ cup coarse corn meal
- 2 1/3 cups buttermilk at room temperature
- 6 slices cooked bacon crumbled
- 2 tsp reserved bacon fat
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 2 TBS plus 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 TBS plus 2 tsp packed dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 ½ TBS honey
- 1 TBS kosher salt
- 3 TBS unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Combine the corn flour and corn meal in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk, and stir well to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 375. Coat a 10” cast iron skillet with the 2 tsp bacon fat and place in the oven while it preheats.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, powder and soda and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, the eggs, honey and salt. Whisk in the cornmeal mixture and combine well. Add the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until completely incorporated. Mix in the melted butter, and finally the bacon.
- Remove skillet from oven and immediately pour in the batter. Smooth the top and return to the oven promptly. Bake for 35-45 minutes, rotating the skillet about halfway through cooking time. The cornbread should be deep brown on top and a skewer or knife inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving.