From: frances (ip68-105-254-203.nc.hr.cox.net)
Subject: in the south ...
Date: July 12, 2003 at 8:27 am PST
In Reply to: Cormeal Pancakes posted by Marjorie L. on July 11, 2003 at 2:02 pm:
what you're talking about *is* cornbread. none of that silly baked
cornbread stuff! :)
i've never had much luck getting mine to turn out correctly - i end up
with oil-soaked, soggy, things ... but, my mom and aunt, can they
cook some good cornbread!
basically, it's done like pancakes ... cornmeal and water, maybe a bit
of salt, a pinch of sugar ... to the consistency of pancake batter, or
maybe a little thinner. (my pancakes don't turn out worth eating either,
so, maybe i'm not the best to be trying to help!)
melt veggie shortening in a hot pan. i think that's the key - having a
pan that's hot enough, and not being scared you're going to get popped
with the grease. when the oil's hot, pour in batter and proceed. you'll
want enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, but not enough to cover
the top of the batter. after a few seconds, when you think the bottom's
cooked enough, slide spatula underneath to unstick from the pan, and
flip cornbread over (quickly, so the top doesn't run).
i think that's another key - using a non-non-stick pan, so you can use
a metal spatula, with a thin edge. plastic ones are too thick, and try
to melt and aren't very helpful.
not the easiest thing in the world to fix, but, if you can get them
right, they're delicious!
oh, and i think you'd wanted yellow or white _unbolted_ corn meal. i'm
not sure, though, i put my cornmeal in another container and threw out
the bag - i use it for pizza crust, i've given up on cornbread. i'll ask
my mom tomorrow, and post what kind.
