Tex-Mex style masa cornbread is an excellent alternative to typical southern style cornbread when you’re pairing it with Tex-Mex or Mexican food.
It pairs perfectly with a nice hot bowl of charro beans.
Instead of the regular old cornbread flavor, masa cornbread tastes like a giant, fluffy corn tortilla. More of the corn flavor comes through than would with plain old yellow cornmeal.
Some added bonuses are that this recipe isn’t complicated at all, comes together quickly, and cooks in only 15 minutes.
- Try one of our 12 salsa recipes to help you master Taco Night.
Masa cornbread isn’t as pretty as regular cornbread, but that’s okay. It tastes great. The dough won’t be as wet when you pour it into the pan, so it’ll give it a bit of a chunky appearance.
If you have some bacon grease stored away or bought some from the store, your cornbread will taste even better. If you don’t have any on hand, lard is a good substitute. If you don’t want to use any animal fats at all, corn or vegetable oil will work just fine.
- Learn about whether or not sugar was included in traditional Southern cornbread.
Tex-Mex Masa Cornbread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups masa harina
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 3/4 cups full-fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg - lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup bacon grease - (or, substitute lard) plus one tablespoon
Instructions
- Place an empty 10-inch cast iron skillet in the middle rack in your oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
- Combine all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a wire whisk.
- Crack the egg into a small mixing bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add the buttermilk and bacon grease (warmed until it's melted, but not hot) into your beaten egg and mix until combined. Stir the egg mixture into your dry ingredients until combined. Do not over-mix.
- Carefully remove skillet from stove and place on your stove-top. Add the remaining tablespoon of bacon grease and swirl to coat. Pour in batter. It'll sizzle a bit as you pour it in. Smooth it out with a nylon spatula.
- Put the skillet back in oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Serve with lots of butter.
Leave a Reply