It is 6:00 in the morning and the farm report is coming out of the transistor radio on the kitchen table. The coffee is percolating. There is my grandpa, wordless, at the stove with the cast iron pan. He gets out the jar of honey and sets it on the table for me.
Mix salt with cornmeal and stir in 1 cup of cold water. Set aside. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in tea kettle. In the bottom of a double boiler, heat water to boil over medium heat.
Pour the 2 cups of boiling water into the top of the double boiler. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal mixture. Cover with a lid, turn heat down to medium-low and steam for 25 minutes. Occasionally whisk/stir to move mush around in the pan. It will be thick, almost gelatinous. Your goal is to soften the texture of the cornmeal so that it isn’t crunchy/grainy.
After 25 minutes, turn off heat and leave, covered, over the hot water for another half hour.
Tip: Stop everything you’re doing! Put a couple of spoonfuls of the mush in a custard cup, pour in a splash of cold cream and a drizzle of clover honey. Nirvana!
Now pack the mush into molds. I have little rectangular Pyrex containers that work nicely. I’ve seen some people use coffee cups.If you double the recipe, you can fit the entire batch into a loaf pan. No need to grease the molds, the mush will slip right out. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, fry up the bacon over medium heat. While the bacon is cooking, remove the chilled mush from the molds and slice about 1/3 of an inch thick. Dust with flour, shaking off the excess. Place cooked bacon on paper towels. Place mush in the hot bacon fat and fry for about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove to paper towels.
To serve, crumble bacon over the top of the mush and drench with maple syrup or honey.
In my picture, I used lizaskitchen’s Essential Buttermilk Syrup. Very delicious.
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I thought that the mush itself was very tasty, but when I doubled the recipe it never set up properly in the loaf pan. If I double it next time I will be sure to reduce the water by at least 1 cup.
I LOVED this! I doubled the recipe and I’m so glad I did because i’m going to have some more in a few minutes! I found it incredibley comforting. Thankyou Grampa…….
Prep: Cook:
Serves: 10 Level: Easy
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Serves: 6 Level: Easy
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Serves: 1 Level: Easy
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Serves: 11 Level: Easy
Prep: Cook:
Serves: 1 Level: Easy
13 Comments
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Clabbergirl on 3.8.2011
I am at a loss. When I make it, it is so thick that a spoon stands upright in the mush. I use Quaker Yellow Corn Meal. Their mush (recipe on the back of the container) calls for 4 cups total water, one more than my grandpa’s recipe. Did you use a coarser cornmeal? Please let me know.
kayanthony on 3.7.2011
I made the mush this morning and my husband and I bowl had a bowlful before I put the rest into a loaf pan to set up to be fried for tomorrows breakfast. It was delicious, but —
It doesn’t seem to be setting up at all. It still seems slosh-y and, well, mushy. Should I be worried about this? Its been in the fridge for close to 12 hours now. Is there still hope that it will set by morning? I doubled the recipe so that it would fill a loaf pan, and doubled all the water as well. Should I have reduced some of the water? The consistency was great for a bowl of hot mush with honey this morning.
Any advice that anyone has would be welcome!
jan98k on 3.3.2011
My grandma used to make this.
Clabbergirl on 3.3.2011
Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for the kind words and thanks also to sharing your mushy memories. When my grandpa got older (and I could drive) we would sometimes go for lunch to Bob Evans and each order a kid’s plate of their fried mush that had been deep fried. SUPER EXTRA CRUNCHY (and delicious)! I’ve never done it at home, but it is another option. I’m pretty interested in the crockpot method you’ve worked out, scrapcat! Do tell!
agirlinherkitchen on 3.2.2011
Great story! Adding this to my recipe box.