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United States, Americas · Classic Skillet Cornbread

Brown Butter Honey Cornbread with Charred Corn

Restaurant-style cornbread: buttermilk-soaked cornmeal, nutty brown butter and skillet-charred corn kernels, finished with melting salted honey butter.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time46 min
Extra waiting time+ 30 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Stir the cornmeal and buttermilk together in a bowl, cover and leave at room temperature for . Soaking softens the grittiness and makes the crumb much moister. Take the butter for the honey butter (a quarter of the total) out of the fridge now so it softens.

    Add in this stepYellow cornmeal (medium grind) 65 gButtermilk 150 ml

  2. Put half the butter in a light-coloured 14 cm saucepan over medium heat and cook for , swirling constantly. It foams, then calms down; when the white specks on the bottom turn hazelnut brown and it smells toasty, pour it straight into a bowl, brown bits and all, and let it cool for .

    Add in this stepUnsalted butter 35 g

    medium heat

  3. Heat a 16 cm cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add a little butter (about a tenth of the total) and the corn in a single layer. Leave it untouched for , until charred in spots, then tip it onto a plate. Wipe the skillet with kitchen paper, put it in the oven and preheat the oven to 220 °C for . Pat the corn dry first, or it will spit.

    Add in this stepUnsalted butter 7 gCorn kernels (fresh, or frozen and thawed, patted dry) 80 g

    medium-high heat→oven

  4. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar, breaking up any lumps of sugar.

    Add in this stepPlain (all-purpose) flour 40 gBaking powder 1 tspBaking soda ¼ tspSalt ½ tspLight brown sugar 10 g

  5. Whisk the egg and about 60% of the honey into the cooled brown butter, then stir this into the soaked cornmeal. Add the dry ingredients and the charred corn and fold just until no dry flour shows. Let the batter stand for .

    Add in this stepEgg 1Honey 15 g

  6. Wearing oven gloves, take out the hot skillet, add about 15% of the butter and swirl; when it sizzles, pour in the batter. Bake in the oven for , until deep golden and a toothpick in the centre comes out clean.

    Add in this stepUnsalted butter 11 g

    oven

  7. While it bakes, beat the remaining softened butter with the rest of the honey and the flaky salt until smooth. Let the cornbread rest in the skillet for , cut it into wedges and top each hot piece with a spoonful of honey butter so it melts in.

    Add in this stepUnsalted butter 18 gHoney 10 gFlaky sea salt 1 pinch

Cook's tip

Brown butter goes from perfect to burnt in seconds, so don't walk away once it starts to colour. Frozen corn must be thawed and patted completely dry or it steams instead of charring. No buttermilk? Use milk with 1 tsp lemon juice per 100 ml, left for 5 minutes.

Cooking it at camp

For even more smoky flavour, grill whole cobs over the fire and cut off the kernels. Bake the batter in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven with plenty of coals on the lid and only a few underneath, turning it a quarter turn every 5 minutes. Make the honey butter at home and carry it in the cooler.