Beans and cornbread: take me home, country roads

West Virginia is well-known for its athletics, most recently the West Virginia Mountaineers making it to the Final Four. It's also known for beautiful scenery, coal mining, the John Denver song mentioned in the title, and . . . its cooking? Not so much. I don't know jack sh*t about the West Virginia culinary scene. Nobody does. I didn't even know anyone from West Virginia until meeting Corey Meadows, a wide-eyed, excitable friend of mine. He loves his Mountaineers, Miller High Life, and food from back home.

But, what the f*@k is West Virginia food? Is it all about fried possum and roadkill? I hope not because I don't even own a car. Actually, it has some similarities to Southern cuisine but is also a part of the Appalachian cooking tradition, where people eat what they can grow, raise, or hunt. Think venison, berries, corn, and ramps (which foodies gush over). Inspired by this NPR article and my buddy Corey, I made some traditional WV comfort food: brown beans and cornbread. These dishes are all about starting with humble ingredients and making them delicious with time, love, and pork fat.

West Virginia Brown Beans (serves 8)
16 oz. dried pinto beans
1 large piece fatback, ~4"x2", 4-5 oz. (or 1 smoked ham hock)
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced (reserve about 1/4 as a garnish for later)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs. unsalted butter (optional)
salt and pepper

• Cover beans with plenty of water and soak overnight. The next day, drain.
  
• Put beans and 1.5 quarts fresh water in a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add some salt (~1-2 tsp), fatback, onion, and garlic.
• Once beans reach a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat, covered, for about 2-2.5 hrs until beans are tender but not falling apart and broth is dark and starting to thicken.
  
• About every half hour, gently stir the beans to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If liquid level gets low, add some more water.
  
• Once beans are tender, season liberally with salt and lightly with freshly ground black pepper.
• Serve with diced onion and butter (optional).

This dish is a great example of using meat to flavor a dish rather than as a central component. The fatback's role is vital but not central to the dish, as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall would say. This recipe might seem quite plain compared to others featuring bay leaf, chili powder, and cumin. I actually like how the simplicity allows the flavor of the beans to stand out. On another note, the beans ended up quite soupy, which Corey and I like. If you want your beans to be less soupy, try starting with 1 quart of water and adding more during cooking as necessary.

Regarding seasoning, don't add too much black pepper. I'm normally a bit of a pepper monkey but found that lots of black pepper didn't merry well with the flavor of the beans. Do add salt with a heavy hand. Otherwise, the beans have zero flavor. Also, I highly recommend the raw onion garnish, which provides bite and crunch to complement the mellow, soft beans. Texture contrast alert! Lastly, dipping some cornbread in the broth is delicious.

Country Grit Bread (serves 8)

1 cup plain white stone-ground cornmeal (not instant)

3/4 cup yellow self-rising cornbread mix

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 tsp. baking soda

3 tbs. bacon drippings (or butter as a substitute)

1/4 cup plain white stone-ground grits

3/4 cup water

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
• Sift white cornmeal, cornbread mix, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
• Add bacon drippings to a cast iron pan and warm it over low heat. When drippings are melted, tilt pan so the sides and bottom are well greased. Then, pour off and save two tbs. of drippings.
• Mix grits and water in a bowl and microwave on high for 3 min. Stir and then microwave for another 3 min.
• Whisk egg in a bowl. Mix in buttermilk and add to the dry ingredients.
• Stir until batter is well mixed but still a bit on the firm and dry side. Add the reserved pan drippings and grits. Mix all the ingredients with a spatula or large spoon. Reheat grit and water mixture before adding if it has cooled too much.
• Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 20-25 min. The bread is done when a nice, golden crust has formed.

I'm not an expert on cornbread and had never made it before. In fact, I'm a bigger fan of biscuits. Nonetheless, I do like cornbread and have some thoughts on this recipe. First, the cornbread was very tasty, no arguments there. But, I'm not sure whether including the grits, which you can definitely taste in the final product, is a good thing. I might skip it next time. Also, the bread could have been a bit denser. So, perhaps a bit more cornmeal is needed? Or maybe it's that I didn't use stone-ground cornmeal, which I couldn't find. I'm also a little confused about why you need the instant mix. I might a post another cornbread recipe in the future now that I know how ridiculously easy it is to make.

Acknowledgments to: Kendra Bailey Morris, NPR's "Kitchen Window" for recipes for beans (modified) and grit bread (as written)