I know cornbread is a very traditional type of food, and some of you will curl into fetal position and suck your thumb at the very thought of cornbread that is not sweet, smooth and unruffled.

Better run and hide. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

You see, I’ve added sweet onion. I’ve added spicy jalapeño. I’ve added bacon. And last but definitely not least, I’ve added cheddar.

It’s hearty. It’s soul-warming. It’s absolutely yummy.

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar (3 if you like it sweeter)
2 tbsp oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 small to medium sweet onion
1 jalapeño
3 oz bacon
2 or 3 oz cheddar

Directions:

*You’ll need a cast iron skillet for this recipe.

I’ve finely minced a sweet onion.

And one de-seeded (is that even a word?) jalapeño.

I cooked the bacon until it was brown and crispy and let it drain on a paper towel.

Then I sautéed the onion for 2 minutes in the bacon grease. Talk about flavor!

Add the diced up jalapeño and continue to cook until the onions are translucent.

 
Don’t clean out the skillet!
 
The cornmeal.

Mix it with the flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir your dry ingredients together.

Add the oil and the egg. You can lightly whisk the egg first, I never do.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix it all up. Don’t over-mix, just stir to moisten the dry ingredients.

Fold in the onions and jalapeño, the crumbled up bacon and the grated cheddar.

Say whatever you want about the savory part, but admit it looks tasty already!

Pour it into the skillet that still has the bacon, onion and jalapeño flavor/grease in it.

 
I set up my BGE for indirect cooking and kept it stable at 400°F (200°C). Feel free to use your oven instead.
 

Bake the cornbread for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

It was a true flavor explosion. Not too spicy, not to cheesy, just right.

How do you prefer to eat your cornbread?

 
Serving tip:
Pairs really well with Potato, Corn & Chicken Soup.