wilkes

The easiest way is to put buttermilk in the cornmeal, grease your skillet with thick layer of shorting pour batter in iron skillet put in preheated oven @400 cook about 30.mins. thats how i do mine and its really crusty an soft middle.

Durn it y'all!
All this talk about crispy cornbread has caused me to put on a pot of pintos.

The best way to make any cornbread is in a black cast iron skillet.. .. Fried or baked.. ! ! ! !

Dog Gone it ! Whitehawk ,
Now i'm gonna have to go make some cornbread you made me HUNGRY A piece of cornbread and some butter ...

I'd just about bet Mom had a nice, thick, cast iron skillet that was well-seasoned. Mother used to fry several pieces of salt cured fatback meat and then poured the fatback grease into her cornmeal mixture which had been mixed with the buttermilk, eggs, salt, pepper, and a little flour and sugar. The oven was pre-heated to 450 degrees and after she had poured the mixture into the heated skillet, she would leave it on the stove for a couple of minutes and then quickly pop it into the center of the oven (middle rack.)

She would then reduce the oven heat to 425 and bake it until the sides separated from the side of the skillet. Take it out of the oven, turn a plate over the skillet, and then turn pan over the plate. She always left it for about 3 minutes and always put a damp cloth over the bottom of the pan. Her crusts were exceptionally crispy, thick, and brown with a reddish or roan cast to it. Tender and moist on the inside and crunchy on top, bottom, and side. (By the way, her batter was about 2 inches deep in the skillet when first poured into the skillet.)

I know this may make it more fattening, but my mom adds a few teaspoons of mayo. It makes the center really moist.

I know that you asked for a 'thick' reciepe, but my mil does a flat cake fried in fatback grease. All she does is take a couple of handfuls of white corn meal and mixes enough water to make a very thick batter; pours it into the skillet (cast iron) and cooks it over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes on each side. Very crunchy outside and the interior is fairly firm also. Serve with butter....no sense going with margarine after using the fatback!

The cast iron skillet must be "seasoned".

Heat the skillet to 400 degrees before adding your mixture of cornmeal, egg, milk and small amount of flour.

If you will put the skillet on the stovetop first and melt a little crisco in there then sprinkle cornmeal in it to brown before adding your corn bread mixture it'll make a nice thick brown crust.

The key is making it in a black iron skillet. Use Martha Whites cornbread mix and use about 2 tablespoons of flour mixed in. UMMM so good!

I want some information on how to make good cornbread with a crunchy outside. I want it thick with a soft center. I can not master the cornbread that Mom used to make no matter how hard I try.