"The crisp little pieces of turkey skin called 'cracklings' were another annual Thanksgiving treat of mine. They reminded me of bacon, and
I could never get enough. My buttermilk corn bread—which is sweet and savory, moist inside and crunchy outside—puts some real bacon into the feast."
Start preparing this one day ahead.
Ingredients
Makes 12 to 16 servings
Step 1
Stir buttermilk and polenta in medium bowl to blend. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Spoon 2 tablespoons bacon drippings into 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Tilt pan to coat bottom and sides of pan with bacon drippings. Place baking pan in oven until bacon drippings are hot, about 6 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Stir in brown sugar. Whisk eggs, honey and melted butter in another large bowl to blend. Stir in polenta mixture. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just until blended. Stir in corn kernels. Transfer batter to prepared hot baking pan. Sprinkle bacon over batter, then press bacon gently to submerge slightly. Bake corn bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cool completely. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Cut corn bread into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
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Reviews (16)
Back to TopI love this! I'm a big fan of soaking grains, so I was immediately intrigued by the recipe. It was so moist and a little chewy. I did everything exactly as called for and will make this again and again! For those of you not too familiar with soaking, it actually makes the nutrients in the grain much easier for your body to digest. It's been done for centuries and we're rediscovering the technique now.
happymontana
St Ignatius, MT
1/21/2011
Oh dear, cook from Asia. Cornflakes? Really? Your 2 fork rating is throwing off the aggregate score so some people just looking at the rating might not realize that this is The Best Cornbread Ever.
QueenCeleste
New York
1/14/2011
I fancy myself a cornbread aficionado, and this was wonderful cornbread! I didn't bother with soaking polenta overnight; just used regular (coarse ground) cornmeal and added it to the dry ingredients. I also sauteed the corn kernels in some of the bacon drippings before adding them to the batter. What makes this recipe special is coating the pan with bacon drippings. It makes the crust crispy and taste just like bacon. Genius. To the reviewer who rated this two stars and used crushed CORNFLAKES rather than cornmeal: that was your problem. Yuck! Cornflakes do not = cornmeal. Try it with cornmeal, and you'll be a convert.
Ruckles
Charlotte, NC
1/13/2011
Holy HANNAH! This is devine! My boyfriend had a bite and said he wanted it for his next birthday cake! Which isn't to say it's too sweet, it's not. He doesn't love sweet cake. Here's what I did different. Like the last reviewer I used cheese instead of corn (2 cups). I didn't use as much sugar as called for (about 1/4 cup less, and not too tightly packed). I didn't have two cups of buttermilk so I used 1.5 cups and a half cup of really gone off milk, arguing "it's the same thing." Everyone I live argued that it was not, but were forced to give in when they tasted the bread. Furthermore when I started mixing the other ingredients, I poured any un-soaked fluids off the top of the soaking polenta before adding them. One last thing.... I served it with a dipping bowl of gravy :)
murney
Ireland
5/18/2010
I omit the corn, add some chunks of cheddar cheese and cook it in a pre-heated cast iron skillet. Unbelievably good stuff.
lemonsrtangy
oak park, il
1/12/2009
I couldn't find cornmeal so I used crushed cornflakes instead. I also sprinkled salt flakes and chili flakes over the batter. The bread was interesting taste-wise. Sweet and savoury all at once. But the texture was weird...gummy like half cooked batter. The batter did seem rather liquid...I wonder if the proportion of flour was misprinted? I note that it says "1 cup*s*".
Anonymous
Asia
7/13/2008
Good special occasion cornbread. Nice corn flavor. Enjoyed leftovers with chorizo scrambled eggs on top.
hungrychic
Philaburbia, PA
5/20/2007
"This cornbread had corn in it!" That's the response I get from everyone I serve this to. This is, simply, the best cornbread recipe ever. I make it for everyone I love and they LOVE IT. Do not be afraid of leaving the polenta and buttermilk out on the counter over night (I was, scientist that I am). It works. I have made this recipe at least twice a year since 1999 and it has been perfect. It is moist, delicious, and your guests will thank you.
lmmclennan
San Diego, CA
4/8/2005
loved it. moist and just sweet enough to balance some incendiary chili served with it. given the amount of fresh corn in it, it would make sense that it would get moldy if you didn't refrigerate the leftovers. i'm thinking it would be great for breakfast as well.
Anonymous
madison wi
10/8/2003
Okay, dig this. To make a faster version that doesn't require soaking overnight and risking spoilage, use regular corn meal half and half with prepared polenta, the kind you can buy in a sausage-like tube. I also gave the corn kernals a quick pulse in the microwave so they were more of a texture that unified with the corn bread and less like whole raisins or blueberries in a muffin. Works nicely with added minced jalepenos.
Anonymous
California
8/2/2001
我爱这个玉米面包;它是潮湿的,delicious, the best cornbread ever. Isn't it amazing how we all get such different results? Oh well, vive la difference.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
11/6/2000
它开始发出神圣但在品尝它was bland. Also, and this could be my fault, but because of how moist it was due to added corn, the bread turned moldy within one day.
Anonymous
San Francisco
8/30/2000
I love this bread it is really good.I used a cast iron skillet though which I thought n=might give it more flavor and it turned out wonderfully.It was delicious.:)
Anonymous
The USA
7/13/2000
I made this for Thanksgiving and was somewhat disappointed. It's a little dry, and on the bland side...here's what I would do to make it better...add more brown sugar and more honey, to sweeten it a bit. Use less (a lot less)corn, and more bacon. Also, if you can do it in a cast iron skillet, it will really add flavor to this otherwise boring bread.
Lee
Los Angeles
12/4/1999
Didn't do much for me. Bland, and didn't like the whole kernals of corn in the bread.
Anonymous
Illinois
11/29/1999
