Tina Turner's Cornbread Proves That Great Food Doesn't Have To Come From A Traditional Kitchen

Tina Turner wasn't just an award-winning entertainer and singer, she was also known to be a bit of a foodie. In fact, she once convinced Oprah to change the way she ate eggs by adding truffles for a fancier and delicious upgrade. She also enjoyed trying out other cultural dishes like this classic Chinese soup, which became one of her favorite recipes. But when it comes to cornbread, the singer wasn't afraid of non-conventional cooking techniques. One of Tina Turner's favorite cornbread memories happened in a motel room, where she used a hot plate and a little creativity to make a recipe she swore by.

The motel-made cornbread that Turner enjoyed is a recipe devised by singer and restaurateur Robbie Montgomery. In her cookbook "Sweetie Pie's Cookbook: Soulful Southern Recipes, from My Family to Yours," Montgomery details the recipe she used to feed Turner and others while touring with the singer. To create the cornbread that Turner would enjoy, the batter would be made and cooked in a skillet on a hot plate. A plate was placed on top to flip the cornbread so the other side could cook, then flipped again after a few minutes to brown further. This creative approach to cornbread was loved by Turner and others, and it came about during the Jim Crow era, when African Americans couldn't safely dine in the Southern and Midwestern states.

Skillet-made cornbread is known to be a hit, but one important tip is to begin with the correct-sized skillet. A 10-inch is the ideal size for this dish: it's deep enough for a hearty cornbread, and not so wide that flipping becomes difficult. While Tina Turner and her team used a hotplate, it can also be baked in an oven for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid dry cornbread, keep the batter loose. If it thickens, just stir in a little water to keep it smooth.

Turner's favorite cornbread is also tasty because of the addition of bacon. To incorporate bacon into the batter, fry the strips until perfectly crisp and drain on a paper towel before crumbling. Once you have about ½ cup of bacon bits, add them to the batter alongside sweet corn kernels for a salty, sweet flavor. A final touch of garlic butter adds a simple, savory richness to this star-approved cornbread.