My grandmother used cornbread in many different ways. She baked some for the fox hounds my grandfather had, she baked some for the pigs that they raised for personal consumption and she baked some for their personal use.
I was very young when she did this but what she raised for the dogs and pigs was very different that she baked for personal consumption. It was a heavy grind which she indicated that could not use. I have no idea what it was.
Her cornbread for personal consumption was very good and baked in a coal stove. I guess it did the trick because I always enjoyed it however I like what I do now very much.
The dogs and the pigs enjoyed it also as there was never any left over. Grandpa Smith was a fox hunter and he had about six hounds. he would take them out at night with some of his friends and they would build a fire, have a little East TN libation and discuss local politics and BS. I know because they took me with them. I personally found it very boring but they could identify their dogs while they were chasing a fox by their sound. They all sounded the same to me but I believe they really could.
The pigs went nuts over the corn bread. Grandma Smith added other ingredients to the corn bread which she called slop. I have no idea what it was but I recall them going crazy over it. They would squeal with their evening treat. Grandpa Smith also had domesticated geese which horned in over the action. They managed to avoid the rampage of the pigs. Much to their dismay, the pigs got really huge around Thanksgiving which mean't the end to their days.
Ham and sausage and porkchops were then available plus cracklings which was the left over from the carefully cut up pieces of skin and fat which was rendered down to make lard for the following year plus there was souse meat and other goodies that remained.
Thanksgiving was always a great day with fresh pork chops and corn bread. That was about 55-60 years ago for me.
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN