Over the summer, I traveled to Wooster, Ohio, for a barbecue summit at the headquarters of Certified Angus Beef.
It was a trip filled with learning, camaraderie — and lots of smoked beef.
My fellow barbecue pit masters and I visited a black angus ranch, talked barbecue nonstop, cut a side of beef together — or rather watched as the “meat doctor” Phil Bass cut and explained.
I was introduced to several new cuts including beef belly — also known as beef bacon — which I immediately made when I got back home. But, the standout of the trip wasn’t barbecue at all. Instead, it was a Vidalia onion cornbread made by Ashley Pado, chef of the education and culinary center at Certified Angus Beef headquarters.
Pado headed up a team of chefs preparing that day’s feast that included a table of smoked beef, numerous side dishes, home-baked breads, pickled vegetables and that memorable cornbread that sparkled with a pave of caramelized Vidalia onion rings set in the bottom of the cornbread. When Pado served the cornbread, she inverted it in the cast iron pan so you could see the concentric circles of onion baked into the bottom. Even before we took a bite, the group marveled at the presentation and wondered why more people don’t embellish cornbread.
The cornbread itself is light and cakey with a little tang and a little sweetness but the salty savory almost-fried onions take it over the top. Pado sauteed the onions in beef bacon since she had it in her pantry. When I made the recipe, I adapted it using pork bacon but you could use butter or any kind of bacon that you can get your hands on.
ASHLEY’S VIDALIA ONION CAST IRON CORNBREAD
Start to finish: One hour
Servings: 8
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 whole eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin and kept together as one piece in rounds
4 slices bacon, diced
Nutrition information per serving: 419 calories; 211 calories from fat; 24 g fat (9 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 117 mg cholesterol; 407 mg sodium; 46 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 20 g sugar; 7 g protein.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.