What is a born and raised Pennsylvania girl doing making Cracklin’ Cornbread? This is a traditionally “suthun” dish after all. (By the way, Southerners think that Pennsylvanians are Yankees, but to Pennsylvanians, Yankees are people from New England).
You Get Cracklings When You Render Lard
So, anyway, a while back I was rendering lard and reading my Foxfire Books. When the pork fat is melted and lard is rendered, what is left in the pan are crunchy bits called cracklings.
The folks in the Foxfire Books mentioned that they saved the cracklings for bread. I didn’t really know exactly what bread with cracklings was and had to do a little research. And, of course, I discovered that the bread to which they are referring is cornbread.
All you Southerners, stop laughing. So, here is how I managed my cornbread with cracklings. If it’s not the “real” way, it’s ok. I’m a Northerner. Tried and true.
So, are cracklings part of your traditions? How have you used them?
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Dutch Oven Cooking: Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lard *
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup organic cornmeal **
- 1 cup organic flour sprouted wheat, whole wheat pastry flour, and even cassava flour work well
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup cracklings ***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cream lard and maple syrup.
- Beat in eggs and then the milk.
- Mix dry ingredients together and stir into wet mixture.
- Stir in cracklings.
- Pour into a greased 9 inch pan and bake for 30–35 minutes.