This just may be the best cornbread recipe ever. It was given to me many years ago by my late friend, Viola Campbell, who got it from Georgia Hughes, an old Texas friend of hers. It is deliciously moist and is slightly spicy from fresh jalapeño chiles. And it is naturally gluten-free because there’s no flour of any kind in the cornbread. The recipe calls for cornmeal and fresh corn kernels. And that’s it for the grains! For best results, use stone ground cornmeal.
Can butter replace bacon drippings?
recipe also says to use bacon drippings, which gives this cornbread a special smoky flavor. If you cook a lot of bacon and collect the drippings, by all means use them. If not, you can use browned butter instead. Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat and cook it for a few minutes until it turns a toasty nut brown color. Watch carefully so that the butter doesn’t burn. Cool to room temperature before adding to the recipe. For best results, bake the cornbread in a cast-iron skillet. It’ll have a nice brown crust all over. You must preheat the pan until it is piping hot in the oven before pouring in the batter.