Name: Smoked Cheddar Cornbread Skillet
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup cornmeal; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup half & half or whole milk; 1 Tablespoon melted butter, cooled; 1 egg; 1/2 cup grated smoked cheddar or sharp cheddar; 1 cob of sweet corn, kernels cut off the cob (about 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup) or frozen corn

With grated smoked cheddar cheese and a subtle crunch of whole sweet corn this cornbread is simply irresistible!

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Skip the oven and bake on the grill

Whether you are a part-timer, full-timer or just a weekend camping enthusiast I think we all can agree that being outdoors is a necessity. Heck, even if you are a passionate BBQ’er or grill master! Being outdoors is just altogether better. Who wants to be stuck indoors peeking inside an oven when the day is beautiful and the weather is warm!? I know for a fact that I certainly do not. I have been on a constant journey of discovering grill baking. Experimenting with cakes, brownies and cobblers I figured why not grill bake a cornbread?

This day in particular I was smoking a turkey breast and wanted to pair it with all of my favorite southern sides. Well, cornbread just so happens to be one that I cannot resist. I eagerly reached for my 8 inch cast iron skillet and whipped up a scrumptious cornbread batter.

The fixin’s

A block of smoked cheddar cheese had caught my attention along with fresh grown sweet corn at the local farmers market. If you do not have smoked cheddar don’t fret, simply replace it with any cheddar of your choosing. The cheddar choices are endless. Don’t let fresh corn on the cob deter you either. Swap it with frozen corn kernels or drained canned corn when in a pinch or prepping those plan ahead meals. Although, fresh sweet corn on the cob or even frozen will offer up some delicious crispy, flavorful pops of sweet, crunchy corn texture. That’s one of my favorite characteristics of this moist and tasty cornbread.

I chose to use half & half in this batter. I felt that it really added some richness and contributed to the moistness of the bread. For convenience, feel free to use whole milk or whatever milk you may have on hand. Be sure to grease or butter your skillet before adding the batter. This cornbread was baked covered while using indirect heat with one burner set to a low, adjusting heat as needed. Depending on your grill it should bake anywhere between 20-30 minutes.

Grill baking tips

When it comes to grill baking, it’s best to know your personal grill. There are a few factors that come into play when you grill bake. Does your grill run hot or cold? Does your grill have a top rack? Can you turn off one burner for indirect heat? For instance, my travel grill doesn’t run hot. I am able to grill bake with all the burners turned on and set to low. However my homebased grill runs extra hot. Therefore, I’ll either bake on the top rack or I will bake using indirect heat. For this cornbread I chose to bake it using indirect heat with one burner set to low. I baked it covered to ensure an even bake. If your skillet doesn’t have a lid you can simply cover it with aluminum foil. I began checking its doneness after about 15 minutes and adjusted the heat if needed. You’ll know its finished when the center is set. When in doubt use the tried and true toothpick method.