How do you all make your cornbread?

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I make my own cornbread, not from a mix, and I have created several different recipes for it. Here is one I developed just last week to go with blackened Pacific Cod, red beans and rice, and collards. It came out so good that it isn't going to last long and I will have to do it again,

Apple & Hatch Chile Cornbread​

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups yellow cornmeal
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs granulated sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1¾ cups buttermilk (or 1½ cups milk and ¼ cup vinegar)
• 1 egg
• 1 medium apple, cored, peeled and chopped
• ½ cup hatch chiles, chopped

Instructions:

Generously coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with vegetable shortening. Place the skillet into the oven and preheat the oven to 425F.

In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.Whisk an egg in another bowl, add the buttermilk and continue to whisk until well blended.

Make a well in the center of the flour and cornmeal mixture, pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour and cornmeal mixture and, using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they are completely combined. Fold in the apple and hatch chiles.

Pour the batter into the prepared cast iron skillet and bake at 425F for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cornbread to cool for about 10 minutes, slice into six pieces, then cut each piece n in half and spread with butter, if desired.

 

[Linda0818]

I use Maseca corn meal for cornbread, and when I buy masa harina. Authentic Texas chili has some masa harina in it as a thickening agent.

CD

Have you ever used it to make mush? I'm wondering if I can use mine up for that. I love cornmeal mush. My mom used to make it when we were kids and I absolutely love that stuff.

 

[pepperhead212]

I'm sure you could use it for that, if you like the flavor of tortillas. It is finer than most cornmeal, so it won't have as much texture. Was the "mush" you used to have the fine stuff, or the coarser polenta type?

 

[Andy M.]

I think the Jiffy mix is really good.

I make a recipe from a local restaurant that's closed now. The East Coast Grill. We really like it and it's similar to Jiffy. use the batter to make muffins rather than a bread. Portion control and an easy breakfast.

 

[Linda0818]

I'm sure you could use it for that, if you like the flavor of tortillas. It is finer than most cornmeal, so it won't have as much texture. Was the "mush" you used to have the fine stuff, or the coarser polenta type?

The latter. My mom always used standard cornmeal, as have I over the years when I've made it myself. I've never used the masa harina for mush before.

 

[jennyema]

I think the Jiffy mix is really good.

I make a recipe from a local restaurant that's closed now. The East Coast Grill. We really like it and it's similar to Jiffy. use the batter to make muffins rather than a bread. Portion control and an easy breakfast.

Wow, I miss East Coast Grill. I have their cookbook and will look up the cornbread recipe.

 

[caseydog]

Have you ever used it to make mush? I'm wondering if I can use mine up for that. I love cornmeal mush. My mom used to make it when we were kids and I absolutely love that stuff.

I don't know what mush is. Is it like polenta or grits?

CD

 

[Kathleen]

I love mush. It's more like polenta but, when I make it, it is placed in a loaf pan where it hardens so one can slice it. It's floured and fried, and then served with syrup at my house.

 

[Linda0818]

I don't know what mush is. Is it like polenta or grits?

CD

Like Kathleen said, it's more like polenta. Although I think many people eat polenta like a porridge? I don't know exactly. I've personally never had it.

I've seen polenta made before and even chilled and cut into rounds for frying, but it seems to be of a softer consistency than mush. Mush, once it sets, is sliceable.

(says "sliceable" isn't a word, but I don't care, it is now )

 

[pepperhead212]

Just about any grits or polenta "porridge" will solidify upon chilling, some when it cools before chilling! It is good sliced and fried, though I never floured it. And it's been ages since I made that! There's a version of the "cornmeal mush" that I sometimes make, with about 50/50 grits and steel cut oats (doesn't add much flavor, but adds some nutrition), and cook them in the Instant Pot for just 4 minutes in porridge mode, and let the pressure release naturally. The flavors I vary, depending on what I'm serving it with - sometimes, just butter, sometimes butter and cheese, and sometimes I flavor the liquid, before cooking, with some morita peppers, and sometimes some dried tomatoes, and maybe a clove of garlic, blended in the Vitamix with the first 2 c of water, which forms almost a paste, which gets almost poured into the grain mix, then the lid and container of the VM get washed off, with the remaining water needed. I used to make this more, when I didn't have that Mexican grocery in town, so sometimes I wouldn't have tortillas on hand (which never happens now!). Never thought about frying that, but I'm sure it would be good!

 

[Kathleen]

This is how we made cornmeal mush. We typically let it solidify in loaf pans. Momma sliced it on the thin size and floured it lightly before frying it up. Dad's mother would cut it much thicker and flour/fry it. It really depends on how people wanted it.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I don't know what mush is. Is it like polenta or grits?

CD

Do you know the difference between polenta and grits?

About seven bucks at your favorite restaurant.

 

[Kathleen]

I thought grits were made from hominy or white corn whereas polenta was made from yellow corn....

 

[pepperhead212]

Many years ago (I'm talking 60s/early 70s) "grits" were unavailable in this area, but I always liked them, as a kid, and Mom would "stock up" on them, when we would go down south, to visit relatives. Then, you could find both yellow and white hominy grits, but years later, for some reason, the yellow grits were never "hominy" grits, which is what gave them the unique flavor, much like the nixtamalization for the masa harina, and pozole, though these have even stronger flavors. I'm not sure why the hominy isn't as strong - the corn varieties or the chemicals used, but it's similar, and down south, where using corn was the the way of life, especially in areas with low income, and pelagra (due to low niacin intake) become commonplace - same thing happened in areas of Europe, especially Italy, once corn became common, due to ease of producing. The nixtamalization, however, makes the niacin available, so the corn is much more nutritious, and the Mexicans, and native-Americans, throughput S America, as well, have been doing this for centuries! Someone eventually figured out what this does, and why it works, but it had to be trial and error, back in the beginning. In this country, the hominy grits eventually became mainstay, pretty much eradicating the niacin shortage in the diet, and eventually, the stuff became popular! They use a lot of other cornmeal, too, and a true southerner would never use yellow cornmeal in their cornbread, and usually no eggs, either.

 

[caseydog]

Many years ago (I'm talking 60s/early 70s) "grits" were unavailable in this area, but I always liked them, as a kid, and Mom would "stock up" on them, when we would go down south, to visit relatives. Then, you could find both yellow and white hominy grits, but years later, for some reason, the yellow grits were never "hominy" grits, which is what gave them the unique flavor, much like the nixtamalization for the masa harina, and pozole, though these have even stronger flavors. I'm not sure why the hominy isn't as strong - the corn varieties or the chemicals used, but it's similar, and down south, where using corn was the the way of life, especially in areas with low income, and pelagra (due to low niacin intake) become commonplace - same thing happened in areas of Europe, especially Italy, once corn became common, due to ease of producing. The nixtamalization, however, makes the niacin available, so the corn is much more nutritious, and the Mexicans, and native-Americans, throughput S America, as well, have been doing this for centuries! Someone eventually figured out what this does, and why it works, but it had to be trial and error, back in the beginning. In this country, the hominy grits eventually became mainstay, pretty much eradicating the niacin shortage in the diet, and eventually, the stuff became popular! They use a lot of other cornmeal, too, and a true southerner would never use yellow cornmeal in their cornbread, and usually no eggs, either.

I've lived in Texas since 1974, but never got a taste for grits. Nixtamalization is not done a lot anymore. It does improve the flavor, but it requires a lot of time and effort, so it doesn't appeal to the microwave cooking generations.

CD

 

[Linda0818]

I thought grits were made from hominy or white corn whereas polenta was made from yellow corn....

Grits can be made from either one of those three.

 

[Kathleen]

Grits can be made from either one of those three.

*Summons Long-gone Grandma and points to Linda* I don't know....um...don't think so....but...*shrugs* I'm certain someone will set us both straight. I'll make some tea.

 

[Linda0818]

*Summons Long-gone Grandma and points to Linda* I don't know....um...don't think so....but...*shrugs* I'm certain someone will set us both straight. I'll make some tea.

Well that's what I read, anyway. There are hominy grits and I've personally bought grits that were yellow as well as white.

*shrug*

 

[pepperhead212]

It's been years since I was actually down south, where we used to get the yellow and white grits, but as I noted, the yellow and the white ones (when my Mom was still making them!) both had that flavor, but in the 90s - last time I was in the area, and brought some back - the yellow grits had none of the flavor, and the white ones would say "hominy" on them, but not the yellow, so they stopped the treatment of the yellow corn, but a lot of the white corn still got the treatment. And what we usually see around here are "quick grits", which have little flavor compared to the longer cooking; not sure what more is removed from it, but the difference is noticeable. And I can't imagine what those "instant grits are like! Not something I'll ever try. One of those things for the microwave cooking generation, that CD noted!

 

[Linda0818]

*Summons Long-gone Grandma and points to Linda* I don't know....um...don't think so....but...*shrugs* I'm certain someone will set us both straight. I'll make some tea.

Oh, and the tea thing... I'm not crazy about tea, but I'll take a Cappuccino

It's been years since I was actually down south, where we used to get the yellow and white grits, but as I noted, the yellow and the white ones (when my Mom was still making them!) both had that flavor, but in the 90s - last time I was in the area, and brought some back - the yellow grits had none of the flavor, and the white ones would say "hominy" on them, but not the yellow, so they stopped the treatment of the yellow corn, but a lot of the white corn still got the treatment. And what we usually see around here are "quick grits", which have little flavor compared to the longer cooking; not sure what more is removed from it, but the difference is noticeable. And I can't imagine what those "instant grits are like! Not something I'll ever try. One of those things for the microwave cooking generation, that CD noted!

I've had the instant grits before. They're not too bad, actually. But I prefer the ones you cook on the stove.

Dang, now I want grits. I may have to make some tonight.