dry ingredients:
2 cups (11 ounces, 315g) stone-ground yellow grits
1 tsp kosher salt
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp cream of tartar
wet ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk, whole-milk buttermilk preferred (see note below)
1 tbsp honey, more for drizzling
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, more to serve
1. Place a 10” cast-iron skillet in the center of the oven, then preheat the oven to 400F. As the oven preheats, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl; in a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk until uniform.
2. Once the oven has come to temperature, add the butter to the skillet and bake until the butter is melted and a little browned, about 3 minutes. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, whisking until just mixed (don’t overmix). Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and pour all but 1 tbsp of the browned butter into the cornbread batter, then whisk until just combined.
3. Pour the batter into the skillet then carefully transfer to the oven. Reduce heat to 375F and bake until the cornbread is golden brown and a knife comes away clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes then slice and serve warm with drizzled honey and more butter.
** Whole-milk buttermilk is easy to find in the South, but hard to find elsewhere. If you do not have access to whole-milk buttermilk, replace ½ cup of low-fat buttermilk with whole-milk sour cream.
** If you have a larger (12″ or so) skillet, the portions of ingredients will work just fine – your cornbread will be just a bit thinner.
** This cornbread will keep for a couple of days, stored in a re-sealable plastic bag. Be sure to reheat it before serving.
** Pairing suggestions: Southern Fried Chicken and Mixed Greens.