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The Great Cornbread Conundrum: The Problem: For the first few years, there was something missing at ÒSomething DifferentÓ: Cornbread, in at least one of its infinite iterations, is featured at just about every traditional Southern eatery and barbecue joint – and with good reason. Cornbreads are simple and quick, easy to make, and the perfect accompaniment for barbecue, soups, seafood and just about anything else. It is one of those ÒcomfortÓ things deeply engrained in American culture. We make our own buns and subs but we have customers who have problems with wheat flour, and so we wanted to offer a gluten-free alternative. The Cornundrum: Many restaurants make cornbread on sheet pans in the morning, allow it to cool and serve it all day long. It soon gets dry and crumbly and loses the moist, steamy ÒgoodnessÓ of fresh cornbread. Most of the time it wonÕt even melt butter. Many barbecue joints throughout the South bake corn sticks or fry hushpuppies. To get that nice crunchy crust on corn sticks you need to bake them in hot, cast iron molds, which we donÕt have. We would also need to operate an extra oven just for corn sticks – it gets hot enough in our deli in the summertime, thank you. Hushpuppies are easy and good, but quickly mess up cooking oil and require a separate fryer. I never found a recipe that I thought would work for us. Most modern recipes for cornbread and hushpuppies call for wheat flour and sugar – no help for the gluten intolerant and an affront to cornbread connoisseurs. The Solution: Enter the homely, primitive and mostly forgotten hoecake. eminently practical and delicious, hoecakes (AKA Johnnycakes, journeycakes, griddlecakes) are the simplest and quickest of all cornmeal quick breads. We have the grill on all of the time anyway, so there is no problem with dropping a few globs of batter for a fresh batch. Wet and dry ingredients can be mixed ahead of time and combined, along with a liquid (we use buttermilk) as needed. They are good hot or cold and travel well for parties and catering. They are great for breakfast slathered with butter and topped with syrup, molasses, honey or jelly. As far as I know, nobody else in the business makes hoecakes, but, after all, we are ÒSomething DifferentÓ! The Story: When English settlers first came to America, they had to adapt to a new grain: Indian corn or maize. Being accustomed to wheat breads that rise, they were not at all impressed with the heavy, substantial breads made with corn. Natives showed them how to make meal and hominy and how to prepare it in various ways including mush, batters, pones, breads and flatbreads. Initially composed of nothing but cornmeal and water and maybe a little salt, primitive cornbreads were quickly adapted to European methods and became the staple food for colonists, soldiers and travelers. Regional names evolved for different cooking methods and proportions. To make things more confusing, the names are used interchangeably to describe the same thing. Initially, all were primitive hearth breads, cooked by an open fire with minimal utensils:
photo by
Dan Gill Remnants of Colonial era
tobacco hoes and an Indian grindstone, used to grind corn, acorns and seeds
into meal. Found on Remlik Hall Farm (patented 1648-50)
As the country became more settled, cooking methods improved and cornbreads became more sophisticated. Dutch ovens and spiders (cast iron frying pans with three legs for hearth cooking) allowed backcountry housewives to make true cornbread. The more primitive hoecakes, ashcakes and bannock bread soon fell from favor, as they were associated with a class of people too poor and backwards to make proper cornbread. Eggs and milk or buttermilk were often added and cornbreads were baked in an oven. Some innocent but misguided souls, obviously putting on airs, added flour and sugar or molasses culminating in Anadama bread. The Recipe: I started my experiments with traditional hoecakes: cornmeal, water and salt. They were good. Then I added minced onion, eggs and baking soda and replaced the water with buttermilk to get more rise and flavor. They were better. Then one evening I added minced jalape–os and canned corn and the ÒSomething Different Jalape–o hoecakeÓ was born – moist and flavorful but not really spicy as jalape–os just add an assertive dimension. It took a while for customers to figure out what they were, but now we make them all the time. This basic recipe can be used for muffins, cornbread or hushpuppies. Something
Different Jalape–o Hoecakes Dry Pre-Mix for three batches: 6 cups (2 lbs.) finely ground
corn meal 2 tsp salt 2 tsp adobo con pimento
seasoning 3 tsp (1 Tbsp) baking soda Wet Pre-mix for about 3 batches 1 Cup Jalapeno peppers, drained 1 1/2 Cups onion – about 1
medium Pulse in food processor to mince 1 – 15 oz can corn,
drained 3/8 Cup Olive oil Pulse briefly Pack in ½ Pint (1 cup)
Containers To make 1 batch or about 20, 3-4
inch hoecakes 1 Pint (2 cups) dry mix in
mixing bowl ½ Pint (1 cup) wet premix In empty premix container
lightly beat 2 eggs Stir into dry ingredients Shake buttermilk and stir in
about 1 cup or enough for a fairly stiff batter. Drop by spoonfuls on hot oiled
griddle and level with the back of the spoon. Flip when bubbles appear on the
upper surface Bile
dem cabbage down Once I
had an old gray mule How that mule would kick He kicked with his dying breath He shoved his hind feet down his
throat Traditional Appalachian fiddle tune Something Different Country Store and Deli More Blurbs from a
Country Store
Published in Pleasant Living
magazine September- October 2006 Previous: BBQ
101, Part III: The Meat |
