Fried Cornmeal Mush

Recipe Description:

Fried Cornmeal Mush reminds me of my great-grandmother. It was something special she would make for breakfast when we were visiting her. I’ll never forget how the crunchy, salty outside with a warm chewy center tasted in my mouth with the sweet maple syrup. If you’ve never had fried cornmeal mush, you’re in for a treat!

Prep Time: 24 Hours

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Servings: 6 - 8 Servings

Difficulty: Moderate

Recipe Ingredients:

1 cup freshly ground cornmeal or corn grits

2 cups lime water

(option-skip soaking and use 1 cup organic masa though texture and taste will not be the same at all - will be tortilla like)

2-3 cups water or chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon unrefined salt

Ghee, coconut oil or lard for frying

Recipe Instructions:

Soak

Cover 1 cup of cornmeal or grits with 2 cups of lime water and allow to soak at least 8 hours, but preferably 24 hours. When done soaking, rinse and drain cornmeal twice. (If using organic masa, skip this step and proceed below, you will likely have to use additional water since your corn did not soak and masa soaks up more moisture)

Butter 3 small loaf pans or 1 large loaf pan. Alternately, you could line them with parchment paper.

Place soaked cornmeal, salt and 2 cups of stock or water in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan. Turn heat on medium. When the mixture begins to bubble, lower heat and stir constantly, adding a little more water or stock if the mixture is getting too thick. You're looking for the consistency of thick cake batter. Cook the mush for about 5 minutes more once desired consistency is reached.

Pour cooked mush into the loaf pans and allow to cool. Once mostly cooled, store in the refrigerator up to a week or until ready to fry.

To Fry:

Melt a tablespoon or so of your fat of choice in a cast iron skillet set to medium low heat. Un-mold the mush and slice into 1/4 - 1/3 inch slices (I do this as I fry them, rather than all at once because they can be fragile. Also, if you use the large loaf pan, I slice the loaf in half lengthwise first and then make slices.). Fry mush slices in hot oil on both sides for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool and drain on a plate lined with paper towel or cloth. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired.

Serve topped with a drizzle of grade B maple syrup.

*NOTE: I've also made this by soaking whole corn kernels in the warm lime water for 24 hours. Rinsing and draining. Then, pulsing in a food processor until the corn is the texture I want. Then cook it into porridge above and proceeding with the rest.

1 thought on “Fried Cornmeal Mush”

loves2spin says:

February 11, 2012 at 4:46 am

Just a thought… when I make corn meal mush, I do it in a double boiler. It takes some time, but requires less stirring, as you can just stir it once in a while until it is as thick as you like. I love this new recipe!

Recipe Description:

Recipe Ingredients:

Recipe Instructions:

1 thought on “Fried Cornmeal Mush”

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