Chili Cheddar-Jack Cornbread is a Savory Quickbread
Chili Cheddar-Jack Cornbread is a savory quick bread that is moist and packed full of spicy cheesy flavor. Green chili peppers add mild heat. It’s delicious served with any type of savory dish and is especially good with soup or chili stew. Tired of boring toast with your breakfast eggs? Replace it with a muffin made from this tasty recipe.
Cheese
There are three types of grated cheese that I recommend to make Chili Cheddar-Jack Cornbread: Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack. Use one or the other, or combine them to your liking.
Cheddar originated in the English village of Cheddar in the county of Somerset. It is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with rich sharp flavor. It is white or orange yellow if colored with annato. Many types “cheddar cheese” have little resemblance to the original cheese from Cheddar. This cheese now has a Protected Designation of Origin, “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar”. Only Cheddar produced from local cow’s milk within the United Kingdom in the counties of Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall may use this name. The manufacturing methods follow strict traditional guidelines to produce the distinct flavor and texture of the cheese.
Monterey Jack, a semi-hard cheese, originates from the United States. Made with cow’s milk, it has a milder flavor than cheddar. Franciscan friars of Monterey, California were the first to make this quintessentially American cheese in the 18th-century. That explains the first part of the name. How it got its common name Jack is a colorful story full of controversy. A Monterey businessman by the name of David Jack was the first to successfully produce and sell the cheese on a large commercial scale. The cheese was so popular that it soon became known eponymously as “Jack’s Cheese” then “Monterey Jack” and finally “Jack” cheese. Colby-Jack and Cheddar-Jack are examples of how this mild cheese compliments the flavors of the other cheese. Chili peppers and herbs define Pepper Jack, another popular version.
Corn Meal
Corn meal, or maize, is coarse flour made from ground dried corn. It is a fundamental ingredient of recipes originating in the Southern United States. It is a staple of Native American cuisine. European settlers residing in the southern colonies adopted cooking techniques for corn meal from the indigenous peoples in the area such as Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw.
Cornbread is a quick bread. The recipe uses baking powder instead of yeast to give rise and volume to the mixture of meal, flour, eggs, and milk. The shape of the bread depends upon the type of baking pan used such as a muffin tin.
Depending upon the method used to cook the ground corn, the results vary. The batter is a host to a variety of additional ingredients which can be salty, savory or sweet. Corn pone is thick, malleable cornmeal dough cooked in bacon grease in an iron pan over an open fire. Polenta, is a dish of boiled cornmeal . It is served as a hot porridge or cooled into a solid loaf. Polenta slices are then baked, fried, or grilled. Johnnycake is a cornmeal pancake that is skillet cooked in hot grease. Hushpuppy is deep fried buttermilk-based batter. It is often served with fried fish or other seafood.
Chili
Green chili peppers add a mild spice and touch of color to the cornbread. This chili group includes all green peppers that are hot such as Anaheim, Jalapeno, and Habanero. The heat index of each type varies from mild to extremely hot. The mild Anaheim, also known as New Mexico chili pepper, is used to make green chili stew. Due to its heat, Jalapeno is mostly used as a condiment rather than a major ingredient. It is not as hot as a Habanero pepper which will challenge ambitious eaters with its serious heat.
Serve it up!
Try Chili Cheddar-Jack Cornbread with my Tex-Mex Turkey Mole Chili. Slather it with Honey Chipotle Butter for a delicious snack.
Chili Cheddar-Jack Cornbread
Equipment
- 1 8×8 square baking pan or loaf pan or 2 muffin pans (makes 24)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar Adjust amount to 1/2 cup sugar to make a savory bread.
- 1 cup all purpose white flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ¾ cup shredded Jack cheese Add more cheese if you like a strong cheese flavor.
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese Add more cheese if you like a strong cheese flavor.
- 4 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 8 oz can cream of corn
- 1-2 4 oz can chopped mild green chili
Honey Chipotle Butter
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 chipotle pepper, canned
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Gather ingredients and preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease the baking tin and line with parchment paper.
- Add dry ingredients together in a bowl and stir to evenly distribute all the ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients together in a bowl and combine thoroughly.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients. Stir thoroughly to make a batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick tester comes out clean.
Honey Chipotle Butter
- Melt a stick of butter. Add chipotle chili and honey. Stir to combine.
- Place in refrigerator until butter hardens.
Notes
