Cracklin’ bread? My mother made it, and it was good. No matter how much she cooked, it was all gone when the meal was over. I make it this way: I take 1 and 1/2 cups of self-rising meal, a good heaping cup of cracklins and a cup of buttermilk. And I put in maybe a fourth of a teaspoon of baking soda. And if that buttermilk don’t make it up like you want it, you can add a little water.
We growed corn and took it to the gristmill up on the creek over here. Usta be a roadway up there but the old road’s growed up now. My great-grandfather Fowler used to run the mill. As a kid, I usta like to look down there and watch that big old wheel. They had a pole and when they pulled it, that let up the gate and the water run under there (down the sluice). That mill was in operation until the early fifties.
—Ruby Fowler Mooney, Gilmer County, Georgia – Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine written by Joseph E. Dabney
Granny and Pap used to buy pork fat from a Raper man out at Ranger. They would render it down to can lard. The leftover cracklins were used to make cracklin cornbread or to eat out of hand like pork rinds.
If you’ve never had cracklin bread before, think of cornbread with pieces of crunchy pork mixed throughout the bread. Here’s a video I made about cracklin bread a few years back.
Last night’s video: Pap’s Tiller Broke, Trip to Town for New Tiller, & Granny’s Garden is Planted!
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Hi Tipper!
I missed this yesterday (June 3) but when I read it to my wife today, she said; “You know what’s better? Bacon bits added!”. I thought you may like to give it a go to see if you and yours would like it.
Tipper, momma and grandma used to make crackling corn bread. It was something I could never wrap myself around eating after trying it a couple of times. If you all like it that’s great. Still, I think I’ll pass. ♥️♥️Jennifer
when growing up I had a neighbor who was from GA. She made cracklin bread it seems like every day. it was the absolute best
We still make and enjoy cracklin’ cornbread. They are hard to find around here, but we did find some at a local grocery, “Food Lion”.
Cracklin’ Bread? I’m glad you all enjoy it.
Tipper, since we on “Blind Pig and The Acorn” are family and not just company, I hope you won’t mind too much if I forget my manners for just a minute. Cracklins – or any kind of pork – does not appeal to me because the older I become (and I am ancient), the more ‘vegetarian’ I become (here, put down that bacon and eat an apple). That said, if I were offered Cracklin’ Bread while dining in someone’s home, I would gratefully accept it, and I would eat every bit of it with compliments to the cook. After all, they say good company, like hunger, makes the best sauce.
How is Granny today? And how are all of you??
Lesley-we are all well hope you are too 🙂
Tipper, I am so very glad that you “are all well”!
I, too, am well. That is, even though my body continues its slow, uncomfortable decline, I, myself, am well in my inmost being. I have learned and continue to learn to be content in every circumstance. And I am grateful to be able to rest in God’s kind and capable hands. After all, the best is yet to come – because God can be trusted.
Lesley-I admire your outlook!!
This is not about the bread but about rendering out the pieces of fat meat to make lard and the cracklings. When we killed the two hogs I mentioned in my first comment, Granddaddy did not want or would let anyone but himself render out the lard. There was a great fear of scorching the lard and when the lard was the only grease used for everything cooked, you sure didn’t want to scorch it because anything cooked in it would have a scorched taste. He would render it out in two cast iron wash pots with a fire under them made from dried out wild cherry wood. This wood would be cut out and dried ahead of hog killing time.
I remember cracklin. My parents bought a pig every year for meat.
I don’t remember them making cracklin bread, nut they always made cracklin. We’d eat it plain as a snack or my parents would have it in or with eggs. My parents & grandparents
probably ate cracklin bread,
but I just don’t remember.
I am glad that you got a new tiller so you could get
granny’s garden planted.
You all have hearts of gold in your family. You are all so
God fearing. Did granny get out to look @ her garden?
I hope so.
How’s granny doing? She’s
such a sweet lady. I pray she feels better & stronger each day.
How’s Cori doing? At the end of your pregnancy you feel so tired
& with the warm weather you’ve
had it makes you even more
uncomfortable. I hope Austin & Cori can get the A/C in their house soon.
Just think next year @ this time you’ll have 2 little grandsons
running around. Well @ least one will & one will be crawling.
God’s Blessings to all
Lynda-Corie and Granny are doing good 🙂
I grew up on cracklin bread. Mama made some of the best. Sometimes we would have just cracklins with some baked sweet potatoes. Oh, so good! Thanks for taking me down memory lane this morning! I am so happy y’all got Granny’s garden planted. I know she is excited about it. I love how your family rallies around each other and everyone is always eager and willing to help out and having all of them live close by is a true blessing!!
Morning everyone. My mom didn’t like cornbread, so I didn’t grow up eating it. She would render the lard and put it in jars with the cracklins in it. We would spread it on bread. I would always dig out the cracklins and have a crunchy sandwich. I’ve made cornbread with cracklins in it, pretty good. I’ll have to make it again. I can’t wait to see Granny in her garden picking out vegies. Hope everyone is alright. Anna from Arkansas.
I could eat my weight in cracklin cornbread but unfortunately it is hard to find real cracklins around here…thanks for the memories….
I never ate cracklin’ cornbread until I tried it at K & W many years ago. I thought it was delicious and wondered why I had never had it before. Using my Mom’s method of cooking without a recipe I mixed in everything without measuring, but apparently too many cracklings. The bread was too greasy, and it did not take much for me to decide I never wanted it again. I surely would try it again all these years later if not for health concerns. You have such an interesting variety of Appalachian subjects, and I find them all so interesting.
My Daddy’s parents raised hogs and I know my Grandmother rendered the lard and they had cracklings. Mother loved cracklings too and she was a fantastic cook.
Granny is going to love seeing her patch grow, plus all you’ve planted. I heard someone on t.v., say they didn’t care for Lantana but I absolutely love it. Our oldest son built a round koi pond and poured cement around it and placed little cement benches so you could sit a spell and watch the fish. We bought him a couple large planter type black kettles and he planted Lantana in them. Oh my goodness, they grew into a huge beautiful plant! That was in NE MS and maybe the HOT, HUMID sunny weather enables them to grow that big. I grew them here in SC PA, they were really pretty but not as huge as they grew down south:) I’ve grown the Vinca plants too and I really like them. I think Granny is going to really enjoy the flowers you planted for her.
My dad loved crackling cornbread. I remember having it a few times. My husband loves cracklings. He has a special place he likes to buy them but fortunately it is not close by so that limits how often he gets them. it would be easy to eat too many.
Always enjoy reading blind pig and the acorn. Thank you.
Tipper,
I have never had crackin cornbread but sounds like something I would like!!.
Praying for Granny and all of you. Congrats on your new tractor and new tiller. This should be a lot easier on the Deer Hunters making a garden, Hilary
I’ve never had crackling cornbread. I have no doubt it would be delicious.
I remember my dad cooking up cracklins in his iron skillet and they were delicious! Plus the smell of them cooking was wonderful.
Cracklin’s were a staple of my childhood. We’d also fight for the skin off the ham at Easter and Christmas. Those fights always had to be refereed by the cook who would trim the skin off and break it into shares for the children.
I never had cracklings in cornbread but mom use to render the pork fat until small and crunchy bits were left. She would then put in a chopped onion to fry in the fat. We use to eat it over cooked
carrots, potatoes and cod fish. So good
My two brothers and I were practically raised on cornbread. When Mama had cracklin’s to add, we’d sometimes eat until there was none left for another meal. Dad enjoyed cornbread, too. I loved hog-killing time, knowing that good country eating lay ahead. I guess pig meat and lard didn’t hurt me. I’m 90 and still kicking.
Never had cracklin cornbread before. My mom used to talk about it but she never made any for us. It does sound yummy though.
I might have had cracklin’ cornbread when my grandmother (Mamaw) lived with my family the first four years of my life but I don’t remember. We had hogs and they did kill them in the fall according to my mother, but I never saw her put cracklin in our cornbread. I like pork rinds and have them all my life. My son-in-law is from Roanoke, Va and he said his grandmother put pieces of jalapeno in the cornbread. I watched the video of you, Tipper, making the cracklin cornbread and your video last evening. You and Matt are so respectful of Granny and show your love by the plantings. Prayers continue for Granny and Corie.
I have now watched the video and heard that the engine blew on Pap’s tiller. None of my business but if it was me, I would be looking around at the lawn mower repair shops for a used engine. A company (harbor freight) in my area have been selling off brand 5 hp engines for about $150. You have said Pap’ tiller was about 20 years old, along about that time a very well know engine manufacturer whose name starts with the letter K begin to use hollow crankshafts in their engines. I know of several people that had the crankshafts break in these engines. One other thing about blowing out too many candles, now at my age it would have to be a big cake to have enough room for all the candles and I would have to get a burn permit before I could light them.
Yummy!! Had been a long time since I had that!!! Always at hawg-killin’ time!!
Cracklin’ Bread is one of my favorite southern foods!!! There’s nothing better than a piece of good ole warm cracklin’ bread with some pepper jelly—YUM!!!!!
I’ve never had crackling cornbread, but I’m watching your video today because I love crackling sand I love cornbread. What could go wrong??
My parents made that when I was little. Once I was helping them render the fat and I stick my finger down in the hot grease. I will never forget that pain. I slept with my finger in a cup of water that night. I don’t remember a lot from childhood, but I remember that pain.
We had cracklin cornbread the next day. It was so good too.
Yum stuff. I rendered about 50 lbs of hog fat several years back and got 15 pints of lard. I am still using that lard, I hoard it, and realized the other day I only have 8 pints left. I contacted the place where I got the fat and wow, the price has doubled. I will still get some in a few months. I know the price will not stay the same nor drop down per pound. Thanks for the memory. Prayers for Granny and God’s Blessings on you guys.
I have never had crackling’ bread, but I am certainly hungry for corn bread now after looking at the picture above. I am definitely gonna make beans and cornbread today…maybe for lunch. You guys are so sweet taking care of planting a garden for Granny. I am sure she appreciates you so much. Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.
Both my family and my grandparents each had a hog to kill each year. The goal was for the hogs to weigh at least 500 pounds. At this weight there would be plenty of fat to render for lard and cracklings. We often had cracklin cornbread but for some reason I never liked cracklin bread either then or now, I would pick the cracklings out and eat the bread. I dearly love true unsweetened southern cornbread cooked in a cast iron pan that has a good crunchy crust. Just thinking about it makes me wish for a bowl of cornbread and milk right now.