Cast Iron Pans - Mama's Cornbread

Last weekend we needed some real home cooking and for real home cooking, you need a cast iron pan. Or several.

People who are into cast iron cooking can be fanatics. We qualify. We have alot of cast iron pans. We have one pan that is just for cornbread. Mama told me that if you use 'the cornbread pan' for anything else there is a better chance of the cornbread sticking to the pan. Mama's cornbread starts on top of the stove, then goes into the oven. When it is done you flip it over to cut and serve. If there is just one little imperfection on the smooth surface of the cast iron, it will stick and you don't want that because then it isn't pretty. So, we have 'the cornbread pan'. We use it for the cornbread and nothing but the cornbread.

'The cornbread pan' is a 10 inch cast iron pan with a handle. We baby this pan. We take it on vacations and trips. I learned this from Mama. I have seen her take several special pans when she knows she will be cooking 'in a strange kitchen'.

Caring for cast iron starts with seasoning it properly and then keeping it seasoned. There are several ways to season a pan and you will find that there are alot of opinions on how to do it right. We season ours by using a paper towel to rub very thin amounts of vegetable oil all over the pan and then heat it in the oven. When it is cooled we rub another very thin coat of vegetable oil on again or sometimes spray with Pam. Always wipe off any excess oil. Thin coats of oil and heat are the key to keeping cast iron in good shape. It's like so many things, tending to the daily detail will make the difference.

After using cast iron, wash it really good with a stiff brush and very hot water. You can use a tiny bit of soap, but not much and NEVER soak cast iron. Then dry it immediately and rub oil on it again.

Once I watched Mama and Daddy take a really old, crusty, rusty cast iron pan and put it in the fireplace to burn off all the residue. When it cooled, she washed it and oiled it with vegetable oil. I have read that burning in a fire can crack the iron so don't do it unless you don't care if the pan accidentally cracks. If your pan is rusty or has something stuck to it, you can use a scouring pad, hot water, then oil, heat and oil again.

You can cook alot of different things in cast iron. Fried squash, fried chicken, pot roasts and roasted chicken are favorites. Mama Crowder used one to make pineapple upside down cake. Recently, we went to a fairly upscale restaurant and they brought out the appetizer in a small cast iron frying pan. I make hot chicken wings on a broiler pan and then transfer to my square cast iron pan to keep them warm and serve right out of the pan.

But the best thing of all in cast iron is a cake of Mama's Cornbread. Mama makes a CAKE of cornbread. It is not a pone or a loaf. She started with a recipe on the corn meal mix bag, then tweaked it a little as always. The most important thing is to heat the oil in the cast iron pan before pouring in the cornbread mixture. Mama and Daddy say that the oil needs to be hot enough that when you pour in the cornbread mixture, "It needs to say ssshhhhh!"

Mama's Cornbread

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Pour 1/4 cup oil into 'the cornbread pan'
Heat the oil on the stove

Cornbread Mixture:

2 Cups Buttermilk cornmeal mix
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Mama Adds a pinch of baking soda AND a pinch of baking powder, but she does NOT add sugar to her cornbread

Sometimes I add jalapenos for a kick but I don't think Mama ever does

When the oil in the cast iron pan is hot, pour in the mixture and let it sizzle for just a minute. Then put it in the oven and bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Put a spatula under the cornbread and flip it over so the browned side is up. Yum. Honestly, a cake of cornbread makes any meal better.