- 2 cups corn meal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups boiling water
- oil for frying
Put the tea kettle on to boil. In a large
bowl combine the corn meal and salt. When
the water boils, measure it in a metal or
tempered-glass measuring cup. Pour the
boiling water over the cornmeal and stir it
up. The cornmeal will swell up, absorbing
the water, and making a very thick mash.
Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium
high heat. You can use as little as two
tablespoon of oil per panful, but it is a
little easier to use 4 or 5 tablespoons of
oil for each panful. Use your waistline and
frying skill as the final judge. Now scoop
up a little of the cornmeal mush (about
1/4-cup) and shape it into a patty. It will
still be warm from the boiling water, so be
careful not to burn yourself. You can let it
cool down some more first if you like. Plop
the patty into the hot fat, and get it to
frying. Make some more, until you have a
whole pan full. I usually cook about 4 or 5
at a time. When the underside is crispy
brown, turn them and cook the other side.
When both sides are crispy and brown,
transfer them to a plate to keep warm, and
start another batch. This recipe makes about
12 hoe cakes.
Originally, Native Americans cooked these on
hot rocks in an open fire. They were
commonly referred to as Ash Cakes. Later on,
settlers from Europe adopted the recipe,
cooking the cakes on the blades of their
hoes in the fireplace. This is where they
get the name, "Hoe Cakes". Of all the
recipes in my collection, this one is the
oldest, the cheapest, and just about the
tastiest of all. Serve Hoe Cakes with as a
bread, or by themselves for breakfast with
maple syrup or molasses. They also make a
nice accompaniment to main meals, especially
when fried in margarine. In the summertime,
when you want a hot bread, but don't want to
heat up the oven, this is the best choice.
They cook right on top of the stove, without
heating up the entire house. Good for
camping and back packing too.
Susanne's Notes:
I never even heard of hoe cakes until I took
over HBHW and I just tried them for the
first time. They were fast and easy to make.
They were a tad too salty for me - maybe do
to the fact that I fried them in salted
margarine. Other than that we loved them
though. They were great with honey or apple
sauce (our family isn't big on molasses).
They would have been wonderful with a cup of
hot soup or a stew as well.
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