Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread on the Traeger Ironwood XL
Are you looking for the perfect side dish for tailgating parties, family dinners, and picnics? You’re going to want to bookmark my Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread. This tasty recipe is better than anything you find in a box. It features smooth honey and a little heat on the back end!
Don’t let homemade cornbread intimidate you. This delicious recipe comes together in less than an hour. It’s the perfect addition to a bowl of chili, a rack of saucy ribs, or as the key ingredient in homemade cornbread stuffing. Once you try it, you’ll never return to your old standby!
Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread in the YETI Cast Iron Skillet
Cornbread is a neutral side dish that goes with virtually anything. Cornbread in a baking dish is good, but why do that when you can have Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread? The YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet creates crisp cornbread that is still fluffy inside. Plus, it’s easy to handle! Cast iron can be heavy, but YETI’s skillet is lightweight yet hardy. It doesn’t get much better than that!
The Ingredients
Cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated. With a well-stocked pantry, you can make many delicious breads, cakes, sauces, and casseroles. Here’s what you need to add to your shopping cart.
- Bacon Up Bacon Grease. There’s a reason your grandparents used bacon grease in everything. It’s a delicious fat for frying meat, sautéing vegetables, and greasing pans. Every time you grease your YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet, you lock in the seasoning, keeping it non-stick!
- Dry ingredients. There are a million ways to make cornbread, but I prefer keeping it authentic. My dry ingredients included yellow cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and regular white sugar. These dry ingredients give the Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread a classic color that everyone knows and loves!
- Wet ingredients. Every good cornbread needs wet ingredients to keep it fluffy and decadent. I used egg, milk, vegetable oil, and a little honey. If you have an eye for detail, you’ll notice this cornbread recipe calls for two sweeteners. Don’t skip them! The honey adds moisture and makes your cornbread taste just like Grandma’s.
- Pickled jalapeños. Pickled jalapeños are the secret ingredient that will take your Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread to the next level. Dice your jalapeños small to get little pops of heat versus a mouthful of fire!
The Skillet Setup
Here’s the main equipment I used for this recipe. More of my grilling favorites can be found in the Equipment and Tools section.
- YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet. Everyone’s favorite drinkware brand just released its first cast iron pan, and no one is more excited than me! Cast iron skillets are a must for any pitmaster, as they’re perfect for cooking dips, cornbread, eggs, and casseroles. The possibilities are endless!
- YETI’s cast iron skillets are hand-thrown, creating a smooth surface with just the right thickness. YETI included two pour spouts for easy grease disposal, which means no more liquid dribbling down the sides of the pan! Many people shy away from cast iron because of the seasoning process, but this pan comes ready to go. It has a non-stick barrier that’s free of toxins, giving you total peace of mind.
This skillet is easy to clean, especially with the included metal ring rag! I have used cast iron for years and was so impressed with the YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet. It makes cooking on the pit, campfire, or stove a breeze.
The Process for Making YETI Skillet Cornbread
You can find a detailed demonstration of this recipe in my video and recipe card. For now, here’s a quick rundown of how this tasty Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread came together.
- Fire up the pit. I preheated Traeger Ironwood XL to 400℉. This temperature cooks the cornbread quickly and evenly, creating a crisp crust.
- Prep the skillet. The first thing I did was prep my skillet. I added 1 heaping tablespoon of Bacon Up Bacon Grease to my YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet and spread it evenly across the bottom and sides of the pan. I placed the skillet on the Traeger Ironwood XL and let it preheat while I whipped up the cornbread batter.
- Mix the batter. To make the cornbread batter, I whisked together yellow cornmeal, flour, egg, milk, baking powder, salt, sugar, vegetable oil, and honey. I folded in a couple tablespoons of diced pickled jalapeños for good measure.
- Add grease and bake. I incorporated some of the bacon grease into the batter, then poured it into the YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet. I shut the Traeger Ironwood XL’s lid and let the cornbread bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve. I carefully took the YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet off the pit and let it cool before digging in. I recommend serving your YETI Skillet Cornbread with salted butter or honey butter. Bon appetite!
The Results
The Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread turned out beautifully crisp with a fluffy inside. The light honey flavor complemented the pops of jalapeño perfectly. If you like Southern-style cornbread, you’ve got to give this recipe a shot!
Serving Suggestions for YETI Skillet Cornbread
This cornbread would taste great alongside any of my rib recipes, Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye, or a hearty bowl of stew.
Storing Leftovers
You can store leftover Honey Hot Jalapeño Cornbread in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for 2-3 months. You can also use leftover cornbread to make homemade stuffing.
Equipment and Tools
Mixing bowls, YETI 12" Cast Iron Skillet, Traeger Ironwood XL Pellet Grill, Royal Oak Charcoal Hardwood pellets, ThermoWorks Hi-Temp Silicone Spatula.
