Hot Water Cornbread is an old-time southern favorite and has a fabulously crispy exterior. It’s a natural complement to southern green beans, collard greens, cabbage, or fried chicken. Especially with a glass of sweet tea.
In addition to being a great side, Hot Water Cornbread makes a wonderful snack when drizzled with maple syrup, cane syrup, or sorghum.
There are many different variations on Hot Water Cornbread. This one contains a few more ingredients than most, but it is still super easy. The batter is a simple mixture of white cornmeal (I use Martha White), boiling water, salt, sugar, half-and-half, and vegetable oil. I also add a little grated or finely chopped onion.
The batter is pan-fried in Vegetable oil until golden and crispy. There’s a little leniency in how thick you can make the batter. A thick batter will produce a dense, thicker patty. It’s a matter of personal preference and if you’re not sure, make it on the thick side and fry up a few. If you think they are too dense, you can add a little more hot water to the remaining batter to thin it out.
More Cornbread Recipes
Hot Water Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups white cornmeal
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped sweet onion
- 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Whisk together cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.
- Pour 1/2 inch Vegetable oil into a large heavy skillet. Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- While oil is heating, add half-and-half, Vegetable oil, and onion to cornmeal mixture.
- Gradually mix in boiling water until batter is consistency of a thick pancake batter.
- Using a 1/4 cup scoop, scoop batter and drop into hot oil. Only fry 3 to 4 at a time. They will need to fry about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Serve warm with cornbread.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: Southern Living The Way To Fry
Hot Water Cornbread is so good with Potato Soup. Thanks for a great recipe.