Make Cornbread, Not War

Matt Chapman aka @chapymattbbq bringing the heat and the sweet

Back in April, bored out of my mind and unemployed I convinced my wife I needed a Traeger grill. To date, it’s the purchase that’s, as Marie Kondo would say, sparked the most joy. From quick dinners to overnight briskets, my wife and I, and our friends, have enjoyed our Traeger immensely. (I said it yesterday but I’ll say it again, quit tagging me in that video. I’ve never taste tested a wood pellet.)

Matt Chapman, fellow Traeger enthusiast, and all around good guy, was kind enough to offer up his recipe for jalapeño cornbread. As usual my side commentary will be in italics, but this recipe is all him. Give him a follow on instagram @chapymattbbq

Jalapeño Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
4 tablespoons Meat Church Honey Hog Barbecue Seasoning (optional) (It’s probably worth pointing out that unless you already have Meat Church products it’s too late to get them before the holiday, unless you want to visit their website and see if anyone carries them locally. If you’re in Virginia Beach, check out Get Your Grill On. I highly recommend, Meat Church products, no one paid me to say that, it’s just what I use in our house.)

2 jalapeños

Mix all ingredients except the jalapeños in a large bowl, until blended well.

Grease a 9 x 9 aluminum pan, pour mixture evenly into pan. (When greasing the pan you can use anything from pan spray, to crisco, if you want to get super southern and authentic, feel free to use some leftover bacon grease to add another layer of flavor.)

Slice one jalapeño into 9 to 12 slices, pull out seeds if you don’t want it too hot. (Seeding and cutting out the white membrane from a jalapeño will significantly reduce the heat it brings to the party. A word, if you have gloves use them for this. DO NOT touch your eyes, nose, or face in general, we should all be pros at this by now. If you’re not going to wear gloves, wash your hands thoroughly, as well as your implements, knife cutting and cutting board. HACK ALERT: make this recipe a day ahead and instead of slicing the jalapeños, dice the, and use the finished product as a base for cornbread stuffing. If that’s not your speed be sure to check out Sara Range’s recipe for stuffing that I featured yesterday.)

Please jalapeño slices in 1 inch squares until you have 9 to 12 squares!

Set grill at 275 for 30 mins (You can absolutely substitute your oven here. Starting at a lower temperature will allow your mixture to set slowly in the middle, helping the ingredients along as they cook without burning the edges)

Set your grill to 350 and probe the center with a toothpick until it doesn’t stick anymore that’s when you know your corn bread is done! (You’re going to increase the temperature at the end here and keep an eye. This is not one of those situations where you can walk away. I know we talked about not cooking the whole kitchen by opening the oven on the Turkey podcast, but this is a situation where you want to keep a watchful eye without overdoing it. This will be a good exercise in learning to use your senses. Finished cornbread has a distinct smell, you’ll know it when it happens. Keep a toothpick handy to make sure it’s set.)

Let cool for 10 mins, slice in 2 x 2 squares, and enjoy

Big shout out to Matt and Sara for their awesome contributions to what will be, if you followed our instructions, one hell of a Thanksgiving meal. Tomorrow morning I’ll have my comprehensive guide to mashed potatoes, as well as links to everything we’ve offered up for Thanksgiving Palooza 2020 so you can find everything in one convenient place. I’ll also be announcing a giveaway for those of you brave enough to post your Thanksgiving dinner results.