Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease two (6-cavity) corn stick pans with about 1 tablespoon of shortening or oil per pan. Place the greased pans in the hot oven to preheat for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add buttermilk, egg and melted shortening (or vegetable oil). Stir just until the batter comes together; do not over-mix.
Carefully remove the hot corn stick pans from the oven. Fill each cavity with batter. Bake until slightly brown on top, about 14-16 minutes for larger corn sticks (in the 6-cavity pans) or 12-14 minutes for smaller corn sticks (in 7-cavity pans). Remove from pans immediately.
If you have extra batter, you can grease one of the hot pans and bake another batch of corn sticks to use up the leftover batter.
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Notes
Use a finely-ground or medium ground cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal will give the sticks a more grainy texture.
Whole buttermilk (not low-fat) yields the best texture and flavor.
Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes before baking, if you have the time. This allows the baking powder to activate and incorporate more air.
Don’t over-mix the batter or it will become too dense, and you'll end up with dry cornbread sticks.
This recipe yields about 11-12 large corn sticks (when baked in 6-cavity corn stick pans) or about 18 smaller corn sticks (when baked in 7-cavity pans). The larger corn sticks require about 14-16 minutes in the oven, while the smaller corn sticks are done in about 12-14 minutes.
The corn sticks are done when the tops are golden brown (the underside of the sticks will be darker and crispier since those sides are in contact with the hot pan). Don't cook them for too long, or they can dry out or burn.