And, what to do with all that freezer chili. Two birds, oh snap!

This little puppy was born, as many things are, over drinks. Fireball, to be exact. We were having a little Sunday Funday and met another nice couple that was, as George R. R. Martin would say, well in their cups. They bought a round of Fireball, and somehow we started talking about awesome things a restaurant should combine for brunch.

Suddenly, that light bulb I always keep a habit of carrying lit up like Christmas Eve. Cornbread pancakes! Topped with chili! And an egg! Yasssss! At the last minute, I added a strip of bacon. Because it’s brunch.

Let me go ahead and say – this is not the recipe to start the chili from scratch. Please use leftover chili. You’re already at the stove flipping pancakes for like 20 minutes, at least. Which brings me to my next point. People in the south, or north, or anyone anywhere that makes chili on a semi-regular or seasonal basis, has at least one Tupperware of chili floating around in their freezer. Add to that a hunter’s household, and there are definitely multiple cartons of chili waiting for that last minute evening meal that never comes. Because when you have to thaw it, it’s not as last minute as you think it will be when you put it in the freezer in the first place. Nevermind the fact that leftover chili is boring. Repurpose it!

A few recipe notes here. Frying the eggs, and bacon (if using) and pancakes is an ordeal. You want to use two pans. I also fried a few slices of bacon, then cooked pancakes in the fat. When the skillet ran out of fat, I fried a few more pieces of bacon in there. While awesome in theory, this made “making pancakes” take even longer. The next time I make this, I’m going to either put the bacon in the oven or put it in the 2nd pan and drizzle some of the bacon grease in the pancake pan when it’s needed.

Cornbread Pancakes with Chili

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Ingredients

• 1 cup All-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 1/3 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter (melted)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chili (hot)
• 4 eggs

Optional

• 4 slices of bacon

Directions

Step 1

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the egg, milk, melted butter and oil in a separate bowl and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Step 2

Heat a cast iron skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Either cook your bacon (if using) and use the remaining grease to oil the skillet or use pan spray. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the skillet and cook until the batter is set and has little holes (about 2-3 minutes). Flip and cook another minute or two, until browned. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Step 3

Meanwhile, in another skillet fry your eggs to your desired doneness. Also, reheat the chili.

Step 4

Top 2-3 corn pancakes with about 1/2 chili and an egg. Top with a slice of bacon (if using) and serve hot.

Non-game or Vegetarian Substitution: Any chili, even vegetarian chili, will totally cut it for this recipe.