Dolly Parton's 3-Ingredient Cornbread Literally Could Not Be More Southern

When you're looking to make something as quintessentially Southern as cornbread, there are worse places to start than a recipe from the Queen of Country. Using nothing more than self-rising cornbread mix, buttermilk, and bacon fat, Dolly Parton hits all the key elements of a perfect pan bread — and she shared the recipe on her Dollywood Facebook page.

Self-rising mix takes some of the guesswork out of the equation since it already has baking powder and salt mixed in. While cornbread doesn't need to rise quite as much as yeast rolls or sourdough, failing to include the right leavening ratio leaves you with a flat, dense pancake rather than crumbly bread. There's some debate over whether to use milk or buttermilk, but the acid in buttermilk reacts with leavening agents to give you a fluffier, more tender product. Since neglecting the importance of fat is a common cornbread mistake, buttermilk's higher fat content also helps develop its homey, satisfying flavor.

Parton's extra flair comes from a few tablespoons of bacon grease — two for the cornbread and one to grease the pan. Rich and full of little shreds of pork, it gives her recipe a savory depth of flavor that makes it just as good as any entree on the table. While delicious on its own, Parton's recipe is perfect for customizing, whether you're looking to add a little crunch or wade into the controversial waters of putting sugar in your cornbread.

When deciding what to add to your cornbread, it's important to keep its texture in mind. Most cornbreads are quite crumbly, so you don't want to throw in too many add-ins or chunks that are too big. These can weaken spots in the bread, causing it to fall apart or not cook properly in the oven.

If you don't have bacon grease on hand, you can give cornbread a salty, crunchy, flavorful touch with pork rinds. Since cornbread needs a certain amount of fat to stay moist, you'll still need to use another cooking fat like vegetable oil, but pork rinds add lots of savory depth and texture. Large chunks won't spread their flavor through the batter very well, so be sure to grind them up fairly fine and stir thoroughly. A few pulses in a food processor, some time with a mortar and pestle, or even just tossing them in a bag and smashing them by hand should do the trick just fine.

Potlikker — the green broth leftover from simmering collard greens — is the absolute best dip for cornbread, so why not mix the two together? Substitute half the buttermilk with potlikker and use at least 7 tablespoons of cooking fats (butter, bacon grease, vegetable oil) per cup and a half of dry ingredients to guarantee good moisture. Most collards recipes call for simmering them with ham hocks, so this is another great way to infuse your cornbread with pork flavor.