Hot Water Cornbread

Hot Water Cornbread is an old-fashioned type of cornbread that's ideal for soaking up saucy comfort food dishes likes stews and braised meats or vegetables. Taking just minutes to whip up and cook, it’s not what you might expect, and it’s delicious.

Unusual and delicious, this style of cornbread is fun to make, and it's a fantastic addition to so many meals.

This version is gluten-free and vegan.

What is Hot Water Cornbread?

• Hot Water Cornbread is an old-fashioned type of cornbread that was, and still is in many areas, a very popular staple in the south.
• Its origins go back to the native people of the Americas, who had been using ground corn as food for thousands of years.
• Part of its popularity came from the fact that it had essentially three ingredients (water, cornmeal and fat) and was very affordable.
• Made on the stove-top and fried, rather than baked in the oven, the texture is ironically not very bread-like. Not even shaped like bread, Hot Water Cornbread is shaped into patties that have a very crunchy crust with a slightly creamy center.
• Some say their purpose as part of a meal was to soak up sauces — traditionally meat juices and potlicker (juices left from things like collard greens or beans).

Variations

There are dozens of slightly different ways to make Hot Water Cornbread.

• A variety of fats can be used. Traditionally it's lard.
• The amount fat can vary from a thin layer on the bottom of the skillet, to deep frying. I think Hot Water Cornbread is best when it's fried in a cast iron skillet with a generous amount of oil coating the bottom.
• Some people mix some of the fat into the cornmeal and hot water, while others only fry the batter in the fat.
• Some use self-rising cornmeal, some add baking powder to cornmeal, and some recipes, like mine, use just straight up cornmeal.
• More often than not, a small amount of salt is added, and sometimes a touch of sugar too.

As I'm not an expert on southern cooking, I'm sure my version isn't totally authentic. Regardless, it's incredibley tasty!

How to Make this Hot Water Cornbread Recipe

(More detailed instructions are at the bottom of the post.)

- Mix cornmeal with boiling water, salt and honey.

- Preheat a skillet (preferably a cast iron skillet) with oil and add the batter in balls of about two tablespoons each, and flatten them.

- When the bottoms are brown, flip them over to brown the other side.

- Drain excess oil on a paper towel-lined plate.

Recipe Tips, Substitutions and Additions

• When shaping the batter, use a small amount of oil on the spoon, measuring cup, or whatever tool you’re using to scoop it with. This will make it much easier to shape, and it won’t stick.
• This recipe calls for two tablespoons of honey, which makes it only very subtly sweet. Feel free to add a touch more or less, or skip it all together.
• Some alternative fats you can use are lard, ghee, olive oil, vegetable oil or bacon fat. (The grapeseed oil in the recipe works well and is a healthy choice.)
• You can make the “patties” any size you like. The smaller they are, the easier they are to work with. As the recipe indicates, I recommend about ⅛ cup each.
• You can add finely chopped fresh herbs or dry herbs, and bits of bacon would be delicious mixed into the batter. You could also melt a bit of cheese on top.

What to Serve With it

Hot Water Cornbread is best served as a side with something saucy. They're an ideal vehicle to dip into, or scoop up, stews, beans, soups, and soft cooked eggs. In other words, serve them with warm comfort foods. 🙂 

I hope you find Hot Water Cornbread as tasty and as interesting as I do!

More cornbread recipes:

• Cornbread with Jalapeño and Bacon
• Hatch Chile Cornbread Casserole
• Honey Cornbread

 

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