My first cook on the new Louisiana Grills smoker was chicken thighs and Peppered Cornbread. I will post the chicken thighs in the next post.
The reason I chose cornbread was the Louisiana Grill is supposed to maintain temperature and allow you to bake in it. I had to give that a try!
I normally make a cornbread that is made with flour and cornmeal and is kind of cake like. This time, I experimented with a cornbread made totally of cornmeal with no flour.
The great thing about a cornbread recipe is you can do most of the work ahead of time. You just have to mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the liquid ingredients in another and any filling ingredients in a third. You can do this up to a day ahead. When it is time to put the cornbread in the oven, all you have to do is mix the three bowls together and fire it in.
I started the morning of the cook by chopping the jalapeno and sweet peppers. Then, I grated the cheese. I put them in a sealed container and refrigerated.
I mixed the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. and covered it.
I put the lemon juice in a measuring cup and stirred in the cream. I added the rest of the liquid ingredients and eggs in a large measuring cup, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
When it was time to put the cornbread in the oven, I sprayed a 10 inch oven safe skillet with baking spray. I mixed the 3 bowls of ingredients together just until moist. Don’t worry about a few lumps.
I put the batter in the skillet and put it in the smoker set at 350 F. I cooked it for 30 minutes. I put a toothpick in the centre to make sure it was cooked. It should come out clean.
I sliced it into wedges to serve.
We served it with the chicken thighs and She Who Must Be Obeyed’s great Broccoli Salad.
The Verdict
I really like this cornbread. It is coarser than the cake type ones I have made previously. It has a nice chew from the cornmeal but isn’t tough at all. The peppers gave it a savoury taste. Using jalapeno and sweet peppers mean that it has a touch of heat but not enough to get in trouble with She Who Must Be Obeyed. I had another piece the next day with chili. Great. I had another piece reheated in the microwave with butter, syrup and bacon on the side for breakfast. Wonderful. This is a recipe I will make again.
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 470 ml (2 cups) cornmeal
- 150 ml (3/4 cup) sugar
- 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) salt
- 25 ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) heavy cream
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 50 ml (1/4 cup) yogurt
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) water
- 25 ml (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
- 150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) cheddar cheese, grated
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
- 75 ml (1/3 cup) green pepper, finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- Put lemon juice in a container and add the cream. Stir.
- Add the eggs, yogurt, water and vegetable oil to the cream. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Put the peppers and cheese in a container in the refrigerator.
- When it is time to cook the cornbread, preheat an oven or smoker to 350 F.
- Spray an oven safe ten inch skillet with cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients, the liquid ingredients and the cheese mixture together just until moist. A few lumps are fine.
- Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean wehn inserted into the centre.
- Cut into wedges and serve warm.
