Ray's World Famous
Cast Iron Cornbread

NEW! STOVETOP METHOD:

In castiron skillet, get your pan hot over high heat, and grease pan as for regular oven-style cornbread. On another burner, heat up a large flat-bottom griddle or skillet. When both are good and hot, pour cornbread into the greased pan, cover with the griddle to ensure a good seal -- voila!!! a stove-top oven! Crank the flame down as low as it will go, just enough to sustain the temperature. Check cornbread with a knife after 15 minutes. The top won't brown as in an oven, but when done correctly it will flip out onto a plate without sticking, offering a deep golden brown crust on the bottom and sides. This should be immediately glazed/massaged with a stick of butter. The center might be dark-dark, bordering on scorched, but that's okay.

I recently tried this using the grease from a skillet of breakfast sausage (crumbled, fried, and tossed into the BeanPot). I held out 1/2 cup of sausage, added that to the cornbread before dumping it into the pan.... ohmahgawd, it was SOOOO good!

Why stove-top? The oven isn't working! Duuhhhh!

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There's actually nothing fabulous about my cornbread itself. I use two boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix, 2/3 cup of milk and 2 eggs.

The secret, however, is is HOW it is done.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, or whatever your recipe calls for.

Start with an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Over medium-low heat, slowly melt two tablespoons of butter (preferably REAL butter, but you can make do with margarine if you really must).

While the butter is melting, make the cornbread mix according to directions on the box. (If you are using a scratch recipe, be sure to monitor the skillet while you do this as it may take longer for a scratch bread and the butter can burn if you take too long.)

After you've beaten the cornbread batter thoroughly, let it breath for a minute or so.

Turn up the heat under the skillet to make the butter sizzle. Lift the pan (use a potholder or oven mitt, of course!) and allow the butter to thoroughly coat the bottom and sides. When it is good and sizzley all around, turn OFF the flame under it, and immediately pour the cornbread batter into the skillet, and put the skillet into the oven.

What this does is crispen the crust of the cornbread quickly.

When the top of the cornbread has domed nicely and turned a deep, rich golden color (12-15 minutes, but monitor your own oven to be sure), it is ready to bring out.

Set it on a cooler burner on the stovetop to rest.

Take a stick of wrapped butter, unwrap one end so the end sticks out like a crayon from the wrapper, and rub the flat end of the butter stick all around the inside of the pan three or four times. It should sizzle as you do this and the butter will quickly melt and run down between the cornbread and the pan itself.

I admit this does take a bit of practice, but when it is done right you will be able to turn the pan over onto a plate and you will have a perfectly released cornbread on a platter, perfect for cutting into 8 equal wedges.

Once turned out to platter, you can continue rubbing the crispy crust with additional butter if you wish.

Crumble the wedges into bowls and ladle Ray's World Famous Sunday Bean Pot over it. Sometimes I'll sneak a slice or two of cheese on top of the cornbread before putting the beans over. Yummy!