Tina Turner's Cornbread Starts With A Savory Slab Of Bacon

Best known for pop classics like "The Best" and "What's Love Got to Do With It," Tina Turner is an American icon. But many fans will be surprised to know about her delicious cornbread recipe, which she got from one of her backup singers from the 1960s, Robbie Montgomery. The cornbread became an important meal for Turner and her group when they went on tour in the South, as segregation left them with few options for post-show meals. Montgomery — who would later become a restauranteur — kept the group well fed with this recipe, even if she often had to make it in the motel room with a hot plate. She later included the recipe in her Southern food cookbook.

Besides its incredible story, the cornbread recipe stands out for its genius solution to the dish's most common problem: dryness. To ensure moisture, and to infuse the dish with flavor, the process starts by frying bacon in a skillet. (Pro-tip: Dredge the bacon with a little flour before cooking so that it's extra crispy.) The batter is made with the leftover fat, and then poured into the same skillet so it can soak up a bit more of the grease. The result is likely the best cornbread you've ever had. It proves blandness and dryness don't really need to be an issue for cornbread lovers.

To dine like a star, cook six slices of bacon on the cast-iron skillet before putting them aside. Crumble the bacon until you have ½ cup, and save the fat. Then, mix 1 cup of cornmeal (white or yellow), 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl. Once you have a bit of consistency, make a dent in the mix's center and add 1 ½ cups of buttermilk (which you can substitute for plain yogurt), 1 egg, and 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat you set aside earlier. Stir until you have a thick texture, and then add 1 cup of fresh corn kernels and the ½ cup of crumbled bacon.

Once the batter is ready, add more of the bacon fat to the skillet, and heat over medium. When the skillet is hot and the bacon fat is sizzling, pour in the batter. Place the skillet in the oven (which should be preheated to 400 F), and bake for 23 to 27 minutes, until it is slightly brown. Serve while hot. Make this recipe on the night before Thanksgiving, so you can use the leftover cornbread in your cornbread dressing. Or make it over chili for an easy one-pan meal any day of the week.