Source:

Karen "Sissy" Wommack

Serves/Makes:1- 9" to 10" pone or 12 sticks

Ingredients

• 2 cups (475 ml) self rising cornmeal (or 2 cups (475 ml) plain cornmeal and add 4 tsp (20 ml). of baking powder and 1 tsp (5 ml). of salt)
• 2 slightly beaten eggs
• 1 tbsp (15 ml). sugar
• 1 cup (225 ml) whole milk ( or 2% milk, but NOT Fat Free)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml). melted fried meat grease (bacon grease)
• Extra Fried Meat Grease for the Skillet/Pan

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (225 C.).
• Put your Iron Skillet or Iron Corn Bread Stick Pans in the oven the same time as you are preheating the oven. (Note: the cornbread baked in the skillet is called a "Pone" as in a "Pone of Cornbread".
• Mix all the ingredients together, except the grease for the iron skillet/or iron cornbread sticks pans.
• You may want to add more milk, the mixture should NOT be too thick, it is better that it is a little on the soupy side than too thick.
• After the oven and a 9 to 10" iron skillet/iron cornbread stick pans have preheated, pour the extra fried meat grease in the bottom of the HOT skillet about 1/8" to 1/4" deep and swirl around to get the bottom completely covered and even some that is floating in the bottom, if using corn bread stick pans, pour grease in just enough to coat the bottom and a little that floats.
• Then add the cornmeal mixture to the HOT greased pan(s)(the grease in the pans should float up around the sides of the cornmeal mixture a little).
• If using the cornbread sticks pans, then fill each stick mold about 1/2 full. If using the iron skillet fill about 1/2 full, also.
• Put in oven and cook until the top of the cornbread is nicely browned.
• Take out of the oven and turn the pone or sticks out immediately.

Comments

Note: The Secret to good cornbread, is Hot Skillet/or Cornbread Sticks Pans with Cold Grease put in the Hot Skillet/cornbread sticks pans, just before you add the Cornmeal Mixture to bake. If you put the grease in while you are preheating the oven and pans, it will burn the grease and this will make it bitter. Note: You will notice NO Flour is used. No self respecting Southerner would use Flour in Cornbread. And We use Either Yellow or White Cornmeal. I prefer a brand called "Sunflower" but may not be available everywhere. You can even Fry this Cornbread. Just Put Skillet on top of Stove and Add Bacon Grease to the Skillet. Turn the Temp. to about Med/High, when grease is hot, pour about 1/4 cup circles in skillet, brown on one side then flip and do the other side. Good with anything. I know that Self Rising Cornmeal and even Self Rising Flour are not Always found everywhere. But they are available here in Kentucky without fail, so make sure if you use Plain Cornmeal you add the Baking Powder and Salt.

Sis's Note: If you do not have an Iron Skillet or Iron Corn Bread Sticks Pans, you can use just an 8" X 8" square pan and do the same with it. But nothing beats IRON for Cornbread.

I was raised on Cornbread. I like it with Soup,or with a supper of, White or Pinto Beans, Stewed Potatoes, Goulash, Fried Okra, Fried Squash, Fried Green Tomatoes, Sliced raw or green Onions, Sliced Ripe Tomatoes and Chow Chow, and Ice Tea!! Yum, Yum.

We also take left over Cornbread and crumble it in a glass and pour Milk over it (us Southerners call it Sweet Milk) then I add lots of black pepper and sometime a little salt, if it needs it, and we eat it with a spoon out of the glass. Some people eat this as a snack or a light Supper from left over Cornbread from Dinner (which ya'll call this meal Lunch, we call it Dinner and we call the evening meal Supper)

I have had people use Buttermilk instead of Sweetmilk over the Cornbread, BUT I never really liked that. Each to their Own liking.

Enjoy, Sissy