Cornbread, by and for rank amateurs...

So my intention here is to try my cast iron skillet at making cornbread since it proved unsuitable for bacon on my ceramic cooktop...I know many here have custom recipes which would be delicious if somebody other than me was staffing the kitchen, but that's not my intention right now...Maybe later...

What I have is a package of HEB store brand white cornbread mix that I think I got as a coupon bonus once :shrug:...

Disregarding the fact that the expiration date was 1/2018, I want to use it for my experiment...The directions say to add milk and one egg...The egg is no problem, but I have no milk in the house because I don't drink it...I also have zero powdered milk although I think I could round up some powdered fast-food coffee creamer of unknown vintage I remember seeing in a kitchen drawer once...My question is will this concoction turn into cornbread if I just use tapwater instead of milk?...I hate going back to the store for just a pint of milk...Also it says to grease the pan - can I use canola oil for that, or do I need some kind of special pan grease?...

If the pan works, I promise I'll use one of the recipes already posted in earlier threads...:yum:...Ben

https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBG...-000125156.jpg

I'm afraid you are going to make such a terrible corn bread you may give up.

You can try the 2 year out of date mix, but the corn bread might not rise, so don't be discouraged it it doesn't work.

You need to use milk, not water. I keep a few cans of condensed milk to use for cooking in case I am out of milk.

I don't know about the HEB mix. I use Corn Kits mix.

Follow the instructions on the bag.

Preheat oven.

Use bacon grease in the cast iron skillet. I don't know exactly how much I use but I use probably about 1/8" of grease. Maybe a bit more.

Heat the bacon grease and skillet until the bacon grease is nearly smoking. Then mix the corn bread quickly. Don't over mix, it won't rise properly. When the skillet is lightly smoking, pour the corn bread mix into the skillet.

Bake.

Enjoy!

Joe's recipe may be better than the corn kits mix. I don't know.

My Mom always liked Corn Kits too, and hers was always great...It sounds like I shouldn't waste a perfectly good egg on this, and just find someone more competent than myself to do it...HEB has an in-store baked jalapeno cornbread that I like...I'll probably just stick with it...Also I found a good bargain on ceramic coated skillets yesterday for my breakfast...I'll retire my peeling teflon skillets to my precious metals pile if they work out OK...:tiptoe:...Ben

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Originally Posted by Mike

...Joe's recipe may be better than the corn kits mix. I don't know.

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You’ve got to be kidding!

Btw, unless the kit has buttermilk additive in it, buttermilk is much better than mere milk. The acid in buttermilk activates the rise in baking soda.

I'm not a big fan of corn bread---but at some point I do plan on trying Joe's recipe which has been safely stored in my file since Feb. of 2018 :cool:

Ben, first and most important rule regarding food preparation. To produce quality food you must have quality ingredients. I have a great recipe I can zip to you if you want it. It's been used around the family for at least 75 years. Very simple and is designed for the cast iron cookware.

Lay it on me Tom...You've got my email address...:yum:...Ben

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Originally Posted by Truckman

Lay it on me Tom...You've got my email address...:yum:...Ben

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Done.

One word ... Cheese Grits!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Phillbo

One word ... Cheese Grits!!!!!

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Those are good too especially topped with fresh gulf shrimp

Agreed!