Ping Gai Chicken - Laotian "Grilled Chicken Chicken"

What to bring to a cookout is always a tough call. Ribs or brisket would be great, but they’re not cheap, and take hours to prepare. On the other end of the spectrum, you could just bring a bag of chips, but that’s kind of weak sauce.

In fact, that’s probably worse that literally bringing a weak sauce, which is why this easy-to-make cast iron cornbread is such a great option. This stuff is very inexpensive to make, but that’ll be the last thing anyone will be thinking about as they eat, and if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be asked to bring it to the next gathering. Sure, every once in a while it would be nice to show up with a pulled pork shoulder, but hey, you’re the cornbread guy or gal, and that’s just your thing.

Above and beyond how much extra beer money this recipe will afford you, it’s also very adaptable. You can add things like hot peppers, cheese, and fresh corn, as well as adjust the texture to your particular tastes. I use a lot of buttermilk, since I don’t care for a super-dry, crumbly cornbread, but if you do, simply reduce the amount to one cup. You can also use plain milk for this, but I really do like the tang of the buttermilk.

As far as the butter amount goes, I’d usually use four tablespoon for the batter, and maybe only one or two for the pan, but this time I decided to melt the whole stick. It was borderline too much, so maybe keep that in mind if you don’t want it too rich, but as with all these recipes, I’ll let you experiment and figure things out. Either way, I hope you give this easy, and affordable cornbread a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8-10 Portions:

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, divided (half for batter, half for pan)

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

pinch of cayenne

3 tablespoons honey, or to taste

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or less for a drier texture)

1 cup self-rising flour*

- Bake at 400 F. for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*To make your own you self-rising flour, sift together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, with 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt.