Add the bacon to a 9-inch cast iron skillet and cook until done, transfer the bacon to a cutting board and chop into small pieces.
Reserve the bacon fat, but measure it out. If you don’t have at least 3 tablespoons, make up the difference with butter. Discard any bacon fat over 3 tablespoons.
Transfer the now empty skillet to the oven to heat up.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside.
In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the melted butter, 2 tablespoons of bacon fat, buttermilk, egg, and salt.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a rubber spatula.
Then fold in the chopped bacon pieces. Do not overmix, the batter will be lumpy.
Remove the skillet from the oven and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of bacon fat to the skillet and swirl until it coats the bottom of the pan.
Pour the batter into the greased skillet and swirl until the batter evenly covers the pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.
Notes
All bacon grease or all butter can be used in place of the half bacon grease/half butter combination that I use. The all bacon version can be a little strong. If you don’t use any bacon grease and just use butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
You can substitute with self-rising cornmeal. Obviously, you'll need to omit the baking powder and baking soda in this recipe since it is already included in self-rising cornmeal.