A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Created by
Golden-crusted cornbread baked in a screaming-hot cast iron skillet, ribboned with melting honey butter that pools into pockets of sweetness. The crust shatters. The crumb stays tender. This is the cornbread that makes people ask for seconds before finishing their first piece.
There is perhaps no bread more American than cornbread. Native peoples taught European settlers to grind corn into meal, and from that exchange grew a tradition as varied as our landscape. In the South, we prefer white cornmeal and little sugar. In the North, they add more sweetness and sometimes flour. Both camps argue with the conviction of theologians. I say make it however your grandmother made it, then make it your own.
This version takes a definitive stand: yellow cornmeal, a touch of honey in the batter, and a generous swirl of honey butter that melts through the bread as it bakes. The result is cornbread that works equally well alongside a platter of barbecued ribs or eaten warm with nothing but a cold glass of buttermilk.
The secret to that shatteringly crisp crust lives in one instruction: heat your cast iron skillet with the bacon drippings until they shimmer and nearly smoke, then pour in your batter. You'll hear the sizzle. That sound is the crust forming. Don't skip this step. Don't substitute a baking pan. The cast iron is not negotiable.
I've served this cornbread at backyard cookouts where it disappeared before the meat came off the grill. I've brought it to potlucks where strangers demanded the recipe. Good cornbread does that. It makes friends of people who arrived as acquaintances.
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
Quantity
1/2 cup
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 1/3 cups
Quantity
2
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
4 tablespoons
melted and cooled slightly
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
6 tablespoons
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| yellow cornmeal, stone-ground preferred | 1 1/2 cups |
| all-purpose flour | 1/2 cup |
| baking powder | 1 tablespoon |
| baking soda | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon |
| buttermilk, well-shaken | 1 1/3 cups |
| large eggs, room temperature | 2 |
| honey | 3 tablespoons |
| unsalted buttermelted and cooled slightly | 4 tablespoons |
| bacon drippings | 3 tablespoons |
| unsalted butter, softened | 6 tablespoons |
| honey | 3 tablespoons |
| flaky sea salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
In a small bowl, beat the softened butter with a fork until creamy and light. Add the 3 tablespoons honey and flaky salt, then beat until fully combined. The mixture should be smooth with golden streaks throughout. Set aside at room temperature. You want it soft enough to swirl but not melted.
Position your oven rack in the center and preheat to 425°F. Place your cast iron skillet in the oven as it preheats. The skillet must be ripping hot when the batter goes in. This takes at least 15 minutes. Use this time to prepare your batter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt. The cornmeal should feel slightly gritty between your fingers. That texture is what gives proper cornbread its honest character. Break up any lumps with the back of your whisk.
In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, 3 tablespoons honey, and melted butter until the honey dissolves and the mixture turns pale yellow. The buttermilk should be cold from the refrigerator. This temperature contrast with the hot skillet helps create steam pockets that keep the crumb tender.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Stop when you no longer see dry flour. The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy. Overmixing develops gluten and produces tough cornbread. Ten to fifteen strokes is all you need.
Carefully remove the screaming-hot skillet from the oven using thick oven mitts. Add the bacon drippings and swirl to coat the bottom and about an inch up the sides. The fat should shimmer immediately and may lightly smoke. This is exactly what you want. Work quickly from this point forward.
Pour the batter into the hot skillet. You'll hear an aggressive sizzle. That's the crust forming. Working fast, drop spoonfuls of the honey butter across the surface (about 6 to 8 dollops). Use a butter knife to swirl the honey butter through the top third of the batter in a figure-eight pattern. Don't swirl too deep or too much. You want visible ribbons, not a homogeneous mixture.
Transfer the skillet immediately to the oven. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until the top is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The edges will pull slightly away from the skillet and the surface will develop hairline cracks. These are signs of proper cornbread.
Let the cornbread cool in the skillet for 10 minutes. This allows the bottom crust to release cleanly. Slice into wedges directly in the skillet, or turn the whole thing out onto a wooden board if you're feeling theatrical. Serve warm with additional honey butter if you're among generous people.
1 serving (about 90g)
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary Explorer
Chef Dean
Thick-sliced bread grilled until golden, piled with creamy smashed avocado and blistered summer corn. Salty cotija, bright lime, and a whisper of heat make this California classic worth every minute of peak corn season.
Chef Dean
Fire-roasted jalapeños cradling cool herbed cream cheese, wrapped in smoky bacon that shatters with each bite. This is Texas smokehouse tradition meeting backyard ingenuity, the kind of honest appetizer that disappears before the main course hits the grill.
Chef Dean
Light-as-air fried pillows stuffed with jammy blackberry preserves, buried under snowdrifts of powdered sugar. This is New Orleans by way of summer's berry patch, and your kitchen will smell like a reason to throw a party.
Chef Dean
Crispy bacon, peak-summer tomatoes, and buttery avocado tumbled with al dente rotini, the whole thing dressed in a warm bacon fat vinaigrette that coats every spiral and celebrates the genius of American potluck cooking.