Honey Butter Cornbread Skillet

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.