Hot Water Cornbread

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Hot water cornbread is a family recipe, but it is by no means unique to my family. A quick internet search will reveal that this type of food was originally made by Native Americans and has since become a staple food in the Southern United States. In my experience, I've only seen it on my parent's and grandparent's dinner table. The family recipe I pulled from has too much hot water in it, so these fried fish looking cakes are what happens when the batter is too loose. If you follow the recipe below, the batter will be a little thicker and easier to manipulate into round cakes.

Regardless of the shape, these hot water cornbread cakes are delicious and easy to make. They require very few ingredients and, in the words of my husband, taste better than they have any right to. Smear them with butter, trust me.

How to make hot water cornbread

This is one of the many recipes that lives on in history today that came out of lack. Traditional cornbread has cornmeal, flour, a leavening agent, buttermilk (I always sour regular milk because who keeps this on hand??), etc. Hot water cornbread requires only four very simple ingredients: corn meal, salt, boiling water, and cooking oil.

In a bowl measure out the cornmeal and salt, stir to combine. Add boiling water slowly, mix until the consistency is smooth. If you add too much water, add a bit more cornmeal can solve the problem. The cakes can also be made in sloppy shapes if they are a bit too wet. They won't look as pretty, but will taste just as good. While mixing the batter, heat cooking oil in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven. Only 1/4"-3/8" of oil is necessary for this fry. I heat my oil over medium heat. The oil is ready for frying when a tiny bit of batter can be thrown into the oil and it sizzles.

Fry the batter for a minute or two on each side, they should be a light brown. Remove to a paper towel covered plate (to absorb the excess grease), and serve with butter.

Tips and Tricks

Hot Water

This recipe absolutely requires boiling water. The name hot water cornbread isn't just for fun. The boiling water helps soften and cook the cornmeal a bit (think polenta), before it goes into the frying oil. Cold or warm water will not have the same effect and the texture of the cornbread will suffer.

Cooking Oil

For this batch of hot water cornbread I used canola oil. Another popular choice in the South would be Crisco (solid vegetable oil). Lard or bacon grease would also be traditional choices. The more modern, healthful oils like coconut or avocado oil will also allow this bread to fry up nicely. I would lean toward avocado oil with a dish this simple, because coconut oil might leave its flavor and change the taste of this dish.

Frying

I often do anything and everything in my power to avoid actually frying anything. I'm an air fryer junky. However, these cakes are far too wet to air fry and need the binding power of the hot oil. When frying it is important to make sure that the oil stays hot enough, but not TOO hot. If the oil begins to smoke, it has gotten too hot and the temperature needs to be turned down. If the batter stops sizzling or takes more than a couple of minutes to brown, it has gotten too cool and the heat needs to be increased.

Finally, when you are done frying it is best to let the oil cool completely before disposing. Do not pour the oil down the sink. I like to find a container I'm going to throw away, like an old yogurt tub, and pour the cool oil into it before throwing it in the garbage. There are ways to reuse fry oil if you plan to fry food regularly. I fry so rarely that it isn't worth the space to keep the oil indefinitely.

What to serve

What meal should be served with hot water cornbread? When I made this batch we had Pioneer Woman Meatloaf for dinner. Hot water cornbread makes a great side for chili, stew, or a large meat dish. Growing up we always ate cabbage pot with hot water cornbread as a side. Another dish coming out of necessity, cabbage pot involved cabbage, potatoes, and Spam all steamed together. My husband recoils at the idea of this meal (he dislikes cabbage to begin with), but despite Spam's repuation, it was one of my favorite dinners as a kid.

The Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups corn meal
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-3 cups boiling water
Canola oil

1. Mix cornmeal and salt in a heat resistant bowl.
2. In a cast iron skillet, heat 1/4"-3/8" oil over medium heat.
3. Boil 3 cups of water and slowly add to cornmeal (you may only need 1 1/2 cups depending on the humidity, go slowly and check the batter consistency).
4. Batter should be smooth, but not too wet.
5. Run hands under cold water, then form small patties of cornbread and place into hot oil.
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until lightly brown.
7. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to cool and absorb extra oil.
8. Serve warm with butter.