Bacon and Chive Cornbread

There are times you want food to stick to your ribs. Hearty, flavorful, and dense. It is a cornbread unlike the light and fluffy cornbread that you might get at your local restaurant. This cornbread has mass. Not only is it perfect for sopping up sauce from a great barbecue dinner, but your leftovers can be used as a great breadcrumb, simply crumbled, dried, and used for any batter needs. We will explore that one later, but let’s get started on this cornbread that will fill you on one slice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of course, yellow, cornmeal
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1/4 cup of chopped chives
• 6 slices of smoked bacon, rough chopped
• Honey, optional

This bread is really easy to make. Basically a quick batter, a quick preheat, and wait. Sounds great right? Begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. In the meantime, heat a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat, and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is done, being careful not to burn. I mean who likes either the smell of burnt bacon, or the taste? Go low and slow on the bacon. The pan will love you and so will your guests. Remove the bacon from the skillet and let drain on some paper towel.

Next, get two bowls ready as we are going to add the dry and the wet and make a great batter. First the dry. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix really well. In your other bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk, mix well. Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl, and mix with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed.

Now is the time to crumble your bacon and mix it into your batter. Toss the chives in there and mix as well.

Brush the bacon grease around the skillet before adding the batter. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until a light, golden brown.

The fun thing is you can serve the skillet on a hot plate, and serve rustic style. Fun for everyone, however be careful on the heat of the skillet as it retains the heat. Drizzle with honey, and get in there. Dense and delicious, and another take on cornbread.