Housewifery - Cornbread

"I found the usual public square flanked by windowless shops known as 'stores' and an angular courthouse in the middle, around which the waiting teams and saddle horses stood at hitching posts...everything was laid out in a square, that blight on many things American. I felt pleased that the Lord had made the heavens and earth himself, for had the contract been let locally all things might have been in straight lines like a Scot's plaid." -An early-day traveler's view of a North Texas town

Kind of reminds me of the joke: "Pie are not square, cornbread are square, pie are round!" Everything in a straight line. Hummmm...like the layout of Fort Richardson in Jack County and other forts in the area.

This all leads, in a truly round about way, to the history of cornbread in America. Cornbread is about as old as corn itself. Harvested by the Indians before the arrival of the Europeans, it was dried and ground into a meal. It could then be mixed with eggs and milk and baked into a dense bread fit for carrying in saddle bags for long distances for long periods of time without weighing a lot but with considerable nourishment.

And, cornbread is easy to make and cheap and can hardly be messed up. It was probably one of the first "natural grain" bars to be packed around to nourish both the troops and the farmer and rancher out tending their fields and herds.

Cornbread is often the bread of choice for Southern suppertime, and it has become traditional for Thanksgiving and Christmas when making dressing.

One of the easiest, traditional ways of making cornbread is in a skillet, oops, this cornbread are round! Here's a recipe:

2 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine cornmeal, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl; and eggs, buttermilk, and oil, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Place a well-greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet in a 450º oven for 4 minutes or until hot. Remove from oven; spoon batter into skillet. Bake at 450º for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 8 servings. Crackling cornbread: Stir in 1 cup cracklings with buttermilk.

All y'all know what cracklings are, right? Well, if there's one person out there who doesn't, I'll tell you. Cracklings are salty, crunchy, reduced pork rinds. And here's one way to make them!

Select 1-2 lb of a fat pork slab with as little meat in it as possible.

Freeze pork fat until ready to use. Thaw in microwave for 10 minutes at 20% power. Pork should still be frozen but in an icy stage. With a sharp saw blade knife, cut into small pieces.

(Icy frozen makes it easier to cut it up.) Place cut up pieces in a bowl and mix well with 1 1⁄2 tablespoon of a coarsely-ground salt, 1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika and 4 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce. Place in refrigerator to marinate for 1⁄2 hour or longer.

Heat cooking oil in a 9" or 10" skillet until very hot. Carefully avoid splashing when adding pieces. Do not crowd pan, cook in batches. Have enough oil in pan so pieces float. Turn heat down to medium low and fry until dark golden brown with edges slightly starting to blackened.

Drain on paper towels. Pieces should be very salty when tasted.

Now sprinkle those cracklings into your cornbread batter, and you've got crackling bread!

Sounds down right yummy!

Have fun making your cornbread and cracklings...a good fall treat, and we'll be back next time with more Housewifery history.

©2007 Sue Seibert