Skillet Cornbread Over Coals
Three dry ingredients in a bag, water at camp, twenty minutes over a bed of coals.
- calories
- 210
- weight
- 1.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 111
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 250 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Snack
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| White self-rising cornmeal mix | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole egg | 2 tbsp | stands in for 1 fresh egg |
| Buttermilk powder | 1/4 cup | replaces the cup of fresh buttermilk |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | one for the pan, one for the batter |
| Water | about 1 cup | cold, added at camp |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals, or light a full chimney of charcoal. You want steady heat, not flames.
- Oil the skillet or dutch oven and set it over the coals to get hot while you mix.
- Stir the cornmeal mix, egg powder, and buttermilk powder together, then add water a splash at a time until the batter pours easily. Thin is right. Thick gives you a brick.
- Stir in the second tablespoon of oil.
- Pour the batter into the hot pan. It should hiss.
- Cover and cook 20 minutes with coals underneath and a shovelful on the lid. It is done when the top is browned and a twig comes out clean.
The original is three ingredients and a hot oven. Camp has neither an oven nor a refrigerator, so the egg and the buttermilk become powders and the oven becomes a bed of coals under a lid. The chemistry is unchanged: self-rising cornmeal already carries its leavening, and buttermilk powder brings back the acid that sets it off.
The two things that decide whether this works are a preheated, oiled pan and a batter thinner than you think it should be. A cold pan means the bottom steams instead of crusting. Thick batter in a covered pot cooks to a dense center that never sets. Pour it, cover it, and leave it alone for twenty minutes.
Packing
Combine the cornmeal, egg powder, and buttermilk powder in one quart bag at home. Oil rides in a small bottle. At camp you are adding water to one bag and nothing else.
Variations
- Stir in a handful of dried cranberries and a strip of orange zest before pouring.
- A packet of shelf-stable cheddar and some dried jalapeno turns it into a side for chili.
- No dutch oven: cook it in a covered skillet on a grill grate, rotating a quarter turn every five minutes.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/simple-cast-iron-skillet-cornbread