Frank Stitt's Corn Bread

Total Time: 55 mins
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6


• 2 cups self-rising yellow cornmeal (or 2 c.regular cornmeal plus 1 t. baking powder, 1 t.baking soda and 3/4 t. salt)


• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour


• 3/4 cup whole milk


• 3/4 cup buttermilk


• 1/2 cup rendered bacon fat (or 7 t. unsalted butter, melted, or if you must, 1/2 c. vegetable oil)


• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 450°.


• 2 preheat an 8-to9-inch cast-iron skillet in the hot oven.


• 3 add cornmeal and flour to a large bowl; stir in the milks, a little at a time, mixing with a large wooden spoon; the batter will be quite loose.


• 4 meanwhile, add the bacon fat to the preheated skillet, return it to the oven, and heat until the fat is very hot, about 5 minutes.


• 5 remove the skillet from the oven; pour all but 1 tablespoon of the hot fat into the cornmeal mixture and stir to combine.


• 6 add the egg and stir to combine.


• 7 pour the cornmeal mixture into the hot skillet and immediately place it in the oven.


• 8 bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.


• 9 remove from the oven and unmold; serve hot.