History

Spoonbread is a Kentucky and Virginia tradition with documented recipes from the 18th century. The dish takes its name from the soft scoopable texture, distinct from sliceable cornbread; it is closer to a souffle than a quickbread. Boone Tavern in Berea, Kentucky, claims the canonical recipe, on the menu since 1909. In Louisville the spoonbread is served at Jack Fry's, Garage Bar and 610 Magnolia as the Southern starch accompaniment to braised meats and game.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Egg, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 180g fine yellow stone-ground cornmeal (Weisenberger Mill if available; substitute fine polenta)
  • 750ml whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
  • 4 large eggs, separated
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of cream of tartar (for the egg whites)
  • Unsalted butter for the baking dish
  • More butter to serve on top

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Generously butter a 22cm round or 23cm square baking dish.
  2. Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy pan with the salt.
  3. Whisk the cornmeal in gradually, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
  4. Reduce heat to low and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick like porridge.
  5. Take off the heat. Whisk in the butter and sugar until the butter melts.
  6. Cool 10 minutes (so the hot cornmeal does not scramble the eggs).
  7. Whisk the egg yolks together. Whisk into the cornmeal one yolk at a time.
  8. Stir in the baking powder and baking soda.
  9. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar to stiff but not dry peaks.
  10. Fold the whites into the cornmeal mixture in three batches, gentle but thorough.
  11. Pour into the buttered dish and bake 35 to 40 minutes until risen and deep golden on top with a slight wobble in the centre.
  12. Serve immediately, scooped with a large spoon, with a pat of cold butter melting on top.

Tip from the editors. Eat spoonbread the moment it comes out of the oven; it collapses as it cools. Stone-ground cornmeal is the dish; supermarket cornmeal lacks the corn flavour.

Where to eat kentucky spoonbread

Kentucky spoonbread in Louisville

Jack Fry's ★ 4.6

$$$$ Tasting $45-80New AmericanChef House team

Jack Fry's on Bardstown Road in Louisville has poured Highlands dining-bar suppers since 1933, the room where lamb chops have anchored the menu for decades.

Book1 week ahead

Directions Book

Garage Bar ★ 4.3

$$ PizzeriaUntil Daily until 02:00

Garage Bar on East Market in Louisville keeps the wood-fired oven running until 02:00 daily, the NuLu pizza pub for the after-dinner crowd off the bourbon.

TryWood-fired pizza, pork meatballs

TipKitchen serves the full menu until close. The patio fills first on warm nights.

Directions

610 Magnolia ★ 4.8

$$$$ Tasting $95-150Tasting menuChef Edward Lee

Edward Lee's 610 Magnolia in Louisville runs a weekly tasting menu in a converted Old Louisville Victorian, the chef's Southern-Korean flagship since 2003.

Book2 weeks ahead

Directions Book

J. Graham's Cafe at the Brown Hotel ★ 4.6

$$ $18-28BrunchHotel brunch, Hot Brown

J. Graham's Cafe in the Brown Hotel serves Louisville's original Hot Brown for brunch and lunch, the open-faced turkey-and-Mornay sandwich invented.

OrderThe Hot Brown, the original 1926 recipe with house Mornay sauce.

TipWalk-in for the bar. The dining room takes reservations on Resy through the hotel.

Directions

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