Jalapeno Cornbread - Awesome Recipe!

I recently made some great jalapeno cornbread. My husband loves cornbread, so I’ve come up with a bunch of cornbread recipes. Of course, our favorite is southern cornbread, but even in this specific category, there are lots of different recipes. For example, sometimes I make plain cornbread, sometimes I make buttermilk cornbread, and sometimes I make crackling cornbread. When I make that and the kids find out, they all come running! When I'm frying fish or some other type of seafood, I always make hushpuppies, and when i'm frying pork chops, I often make fried lacy cornbread. Hubby and I wanted something with a little heat the other night, so I made a big pot of spicy lima beans. I had bought some hot peppers from the Mexican supermarket, so I added them to the beans. I had some hot peppers left over, and I wanted to put them to good use. As sort of an afterthought, I decided to also add some of the jalapeno peppers to the cornbread. Voila – jalapeno cornbread!

A good basic cornbread recipe includes cornmeal, baking powder and/or baking soda, eggs, and milk. Some type of fat is also needed – melted butter, melted margarine, melted shortening like Crisco, or oil. Most cooks include salt and pepper in their cornbread recipe, and for sweet cornbread, sugar is added.

There are lots of variations to a basic cornbread recipe. For example, I don’t like the texture that results from using all cornmeal, so I add some flour. Also, instead of using regular cornmeal and all purpose flour, I use the self-rising versions, so I don’t have to add baking powder or baking soda. In fact, I often use self-rising buttermilk cornmeal. If you can find that in your local stores, give it a try. and speaking of buttermilk, using it instead of regular milk will give your cornbread recipe a wonderful flavor.

I usually add some garlic flavor to my homemade cornbread, too. Sometimes I use chopped or minced garlic, but if I don’t have any on hand, I’ll use garlic powder or garlic salt. My favorite version is Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley flakes. Other seasonings you might want to try with your cornbread recipe might include cayenne, chili pepper, chipotle powder, onion powder, or paprika. Other ingredients you might want to add are chopped onion, chopped celery, diced bell pepper, whole kernel corn, creamed corn, shredded cheese, or chopped cooked bacon. Of course, if you want crackling cornbread, you’ll need to add a generous amount of pork cracklings. Also, some southern cooks sometimes add stewed tomatoes to their cornbread, but I’ve never been a big fan.

For really good southern cornbread, you’ll need a large black iron skillet. Sure, you can use a glass or metal baking pan, but you’ll never get the same texture that you’ll get with a black iron skillet. The black iron gets hot enough to give the cornbread a delightful crusty exterior, but the interior of the bread will be soft and moist.

Jalapeno cornbread is easy to make. All you have to do is add some chopped jalapenos to your favorite cornbread recipe. You might want to sauté the chopped peppers in a little butter or oil before adding them to the batter, but you don’t have to. You can also soften the jalapenos in the microwave before stirring them into the cornbread batter. For a slightly different taste, you might want to try using pickled jalapenos.

In the jalapeno cornbread recipe that follows, I used about ten jalapenos, and we didn’t think the cornbread was overly hot. Remember, however, that as true southerners, hubby and I eat hot sauce on just about everything but dessert. Keeping that in mind, you might want to adjust the number of hot peppers you add to your cornbread recipe. When you chop the peppers, be sure to add any juice that escapes, too. It’ll give the cornbread extra flavor and a nice kick.

This is a tasty jalapeno cornbread recipe that we love. It’s not tricky, so anyone can make it successfully. It’s great served with lima beans and ham, baked or fried ham, pork chops, pork barbecue, fried chicken, and just about any other southern food you can think of!