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Tag: Southern

Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread

October 22, 2026 /

Cornbread belongs in a cast-iron skillet. That crispy edge is the best part.

Quick answer Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in a 450°F oven. Mix 2 cups cornmeal with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk 1 1/2 cups buttermilk with 2 eggs. Melt butter or bacon drippings in the hot skillet, stir most of it into the batter, pour the batter in, and bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread
Photo: Alabama Extension / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Ingredients

  • 2 cups fine yellow or white cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons butter or bacon drippings
  • A 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Directions

  1. Heat the skillet. Put the empty skillet in the oven and preheat to 450°F.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients: cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar if using.
  3. Mix the wet. In another bowl whisk the buttermilk and eggs. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined. Don’t overmix.
  4. Melt the fat. Put the butter or drippings in the hot skillet in the oven for a minute until melted. Pull the skillet out carefully and swirl to coat the bottom and sides.
  5. Combine and pour. Pour most of the hot fat into the batter, stir quickly, and pour the batter into the skillet. It should sizzle.
  6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
  7. Serve warm, turned out crust-side up, with butter, honey, or a bowl of beans.
Safety: That skillet comes out of a 450°F oven. Use a thick, dry oven mitt every time you touch it, and warn the kids.

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

October 22, 2026 /

Chicken and dumplings on a cold night is hard to beat.

Quick answer Put a thawed whole chicken in a 6-quart slow cooker with water or broth and cook on LOW about 4 to 8 hours, until the thickest part of the thigh hits 165°F. Lift it out, pull the meat off (toss the skin and bones), and stir it back into the broth. Cut a can of refrigerated biscuits into pieces, drop them in, and cook on HIGH about 60 to 90 minutes, until no longer doughy in the middle.
Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Photo: Amadscientist / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds, fully thawed, giblets removed (not rotisserie or precooked)
  • Chicken broth or water (see step 2)
  • 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 1 can (8-count) refrigerated biscuits
  • 2 tablespoons butter (optional)
  • Optional vegetables: 1 onion, chopped; 1 to 2 ribs celery, sliced; 2 carrots, sliced
  • A 6-quart slow cooker and a food thermometer

Directions

  1. Start clean and cold. Wash your hands and the cooker. Keep the chicken in the fridge until you’re ready, and make sure it’s completely thawed. Never start a frozen chicken in a slow cooker.
  2. Load the cooker. If you’re using vegetables, put them in the bottom first (they cook slower than the meat). Set the chicken on top, breast side up, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and add broth or water so the chicken is sitting well down in liquid but the lid still closes easily. Don’t fill past your cooker’s fill line.
  3. Cook. Cover and cook on LOW about 4 to 8 hours, depending on the size of the bird and your cooker. If you can, run it on HIGH for the first hour, then switch to LOW. Keep the lid on; lift it only to check doneness.
  4. Check the temperature. The chicken is done when a food thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads at least 165°F. Check the breast too. The meat should be falling off the bone.
  5. Pull the meat. Lift the chicken onto a big platter or cutting board (it will want to fall apart). Let it cool enough to handle, then pull or slice the meat off. Throw away the skin and bones. Fish out any small bones that stayed in the broth.
  6. Return the meat. Stir the chicken back into the broth, add the butter if using, and taste for salt and pepper. Turn the cooker to HIGH.
  7. Make the dumplings. Open the biscuits, press each one a little flatter, and cut each into quarters or strips.
  8. Cook the dumplings. Drop the pieces in over the top and spoon some broth over them. Cover and cook on HIGH about 60 to 90 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until a piece from the middle is cooked through and not doughy.
  9. Serve hot, with extra black pepper.
Safety: Cook poultry to at least 165°F, measured with a food thermometer. If the power goes out while you’re away, throw the food out even if it looks done. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow covered containers within 2 hours, and reheat them on the stove or in the microwave to 165°F, not in the slow cooker.

Good to know

Slow cookers vary, so use the times as a guide and the thermometer as the final word. A 6-quart cooker is a good fit for a 4- to 5-pound chicken.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

October 22, 2026 /

Biscuits and gravy is about as close to perfect as breakfast gets.

Quick answer Biscuits: 2 cups flour, baking powder, a little soda and salt, cold butter worked in, 3/4 cup buttermilk; pat, fold, cut, and bake at 450°F about 15 minutes. Gravy: brown 1 pound of bulk sausage, stir 1/4 cup flour into the drippings, whisk in 2 cups of milk, simmer until thick, and pepper it generously. Makes about 8 biscuits; serves 4.
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Photo: jeffreyw / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Ingredients

  • Biscuits: 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
  • 6 to 7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced
  • 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus a little for brushing
  • Gravy: 1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • Salt and plenty of black pepper

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients for the biscuits in a bowl. Work in the cold butter with your fingertips until there are still pea-size pieces. Those make the flaky layers.
  3. Add the buttermilk and stir just until a shaggy dough forms. Don’t overwork it.
  4. Pat and fold. On a floured board, pat the dough into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, and pat it out about 3/4 inch thick.
  5. Cut rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cutter and set them on the pan, close together for soft sides or an inch apart for crisp ones. Press the scraps together and cut more. Brush the tops with buttermilk.
  6. Bake about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.
  7. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains (160°F).
  8. Make the roux. Leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan with the sausage (pour off extra). Sprinkle in the flour and stir it around about 3 minutes.
  9. Add milk a little at a time, whisking, and scrape up the browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook a few minutes until thick. Thin with a splash more milk if needed.
  10. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Split the biscuits and spoon the gravy over.
Safety: Cook pork sausage to 160°F. Keep little hands back from the hot skillet and grease.

Tips

Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it; scooping packs it in and makes dry biscuits. Lightly browned is the goal, not dark.

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