The Great Cornbread Question

[ParkingWitch]

I prefer mine under a nice fat ham hock with lots of white beans and the juice from cooking.
Or at the bottom of a good big bowl of chili.

[Jester]

Corn brad or corn muffins, either way they have to have some moisture to them, or they are so much sawdust, though of course if they are too moist, that's not good either. I generally like mine slathered in butter, though I have had some so good (probably made with lots of butter right in them) that they didn't even need any butter.

While I don't believe I've had any made with whole kernels of corn, I have had some made with jalapenos that was just AWESOME.

[MaggieTheCat]

I thought this debate would be whether cornbread should be sweet or not...my mom (from Wisconsin) always made sweet cornbread, but when I moved to Texas, a friend of mine said that was a northern thing and that southern cornbread is unsweetened. But I still find sweet cornbread down here, so...

I prefer my cornbread slightly moist and sweet, with no add-ins (corn, jalapenos, cheese, etc.) I have a really superb recipe that has sugar, butter, AND cream in it, so they're incredibly rich as they are and don't really need anything on them. They could almost be served for dessert, but they do go excellently with a hearty savory meal like spicy chili.

[PepperElf]

i've never had corn bits in it but... i was at one bbq here where they served the cornbread cooked like pancakes.

i was expecting dry blah cornbread and instead i had sweet pancake like stuff that was really tasty



I admit I'm not overly fond of jalepeño cornbread, but that's because of disappointment.
when i first saw it in the navy i thought it was cake. ... so here i was expecting a piece of cake and it was dry cornbread.

[vikingchyk]

Quoth PepperElf

i've never had corn bits in it but... i was at one bbq here where they served the cornbread cooked like pancakes.

i was expecting dry blah cornbread and instead i had sweet pancake like stuff that was really tasty

Oh yes, I've done that, too, with the Jiffy mix. Those are good for dinner, when you think you want pancakes, but not really. Just savory enough. But I still load them up with butter and maple syrup.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't like cornbread much, but if I must eat it, I prefer it moist, salty, and with enough butter it can be swallowed.

For the most part, I find the texture of it unpalatable. Unless it's got pork cracklings in it, and it's served with collard greens. Then we are having an entirely different conversation.

[Flying Grype]

I said moist, because what I really like is grits.

[dalesys]

Where's the option to vote "YES!" ?

Kinda like the idjits when you're expecting. "Would you like a..."

[Bella_Vixen]

Quoth Treasure

well away from me....

Same here.

[Tanasi]

First of all real cornbread isn't sweet as that is called cake, only yankees or their lackies perfer it that way.

Excepting for sweet I like cornbread in almost all ways fixed.
Depending up how I'm planning on eating it will determine how I make it. Just to eat with some butter I prefer it a little on the moist side with jalapeno's (Martha White Mexican cornbread mix is good) baked as muffins. If I'm going to crumble it up into buttermilk then I prefer it on the dry side because well...I'm putting it in butter milk.
A good well seasoned cast iron skillet is a must. Preheat you oven slather the inside of the skillet with either bacon grease or hog-lard. Put it in the oven to warm up for several minutes. Mix your cornbread as you like but don't over mix it, small lumps are ok. Remove the hot skillet from the oven (you did remember to use something besides your bare hand didn't you???) Pour in your cornbread batter and quickly return the skillet to the oven. Bake until the top is lightly golden brown and delicious. Let it set for just a few minutes but not too long as mositure will condense under the cornbread and make it soggy. Run and knife around the edge of the cornbread and then place a plate or platter over the skillet and turn it over the cornbread it should drop right out. Consume it as you see fit.
For stirins I like jalopenos, green or sweet onions, cheddar cheese and maybe cream corn. Also instead of using so much buttermilk try some sour cream. It's the same taste but makes it creamier, add whole milk to make the batter a little thinner if needed.