CRACKLING CORN BREAD

Crackling Corn Bread image

This recipe came to The Times in 2010, part of a Pete Wells's Cooking With Dexter column about Laura Ingalls Wilder. "She also described cooking and eating as attentively and movingly as any author I know," he wrote of the "Little House on the Prairie" writer. Inspired, he bought a copy of "The Little House Cookbook," by Barbara M. Walker, whose recipe for cracklings relies on just pork fat and an optional seasoning. He incorporates cracklings into this corn bread, but cooked bacon is also a worthy substitute for that porky flavor.

Provided by Pete Wells

Time 25m

Yield Serves 8

Number Of Ingredients 8

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter or bacon grease
2 cups stone-ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons cracklings or cooked bacon, drained on paper towels and chopped

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the butter or bacon grease in an 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet and set over a medium-low flame. Heat until the bubbling subsides.
Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and gradually stir in the buttermilk. Add the eggs and cracklings or bacon. Stir in the melted butter or grease and pour the batter into the hot skillet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes, then invert over a plate or cooling rack. Serve warm. The cracklings respond especially well if the corn bread is toasted the next day.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 242, UnsaturatedFat 7 grams, Carbohydrate 26 grams, Fat 13 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 6 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 357 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams, TransFat 0 grams