Photography by Jim Bathie | Recipe Development by Ola Agbodza | Food Styling by Vanessa Rocchio
Packed with Louisiana flavor, this Cracklin’ Crawfish Cornbread brings together smoky bacon drippings, tender crawfish tails, and crispy pork cracklin’s in one hearty skillet bake.
Cracklin' Crawfish Cornbread
Makes about 8 servings
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons bacon drippings, divided
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onion
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1⅓ cups whole buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (3.5-ounce) bag pork cracklin’ strips, coarsely chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) package frozen cooked crawfish tails, drained and divided
- ¼ cup salted butter, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Add corn, bell pepper, green onion, and jalapeño; cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, Cajun seasoning, and baking soda. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons bacon drippings. Stir in corn mixture, cracklin’s, and 12 ounces crawfish.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons bacon drippings to skillet. Place in oven until hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully spoon batter into hot skillet, and smooth top with a small offset spatula.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- In another medium bowl, stir together butter and remaining 4 ounces crawfish. Serve cornbread warm with butter mixture.
