Cornmeal Pancakes

This is one of the recipes that you either love or you hate, I have never met anyone who is ambivalent about them. The best part about cornmeal pancakes is that they can be enjoyed in many different ways. If you want them for breakfast, they are great with plenty of butter and maple syrup. If you are looking for a semi-nutritious snack food, cold cornmeal pancakes with some of your favorite jam are a tasty little snack. And lastly, you can make them ahead and freeze them the warm them up later for use with chili, or stew or even creamed chipped beef. (yes, otherwise known as "shit on a shingle") They have a texture like a pancake, but a taste similar to a light cornbread.

There are many variations of this classic recipe from Johnny Cakes to corn-dodgers. This falls somewhere in the middle. I take some shortcuts with this to make it as easy as possible, and still get a decent result. The biggest thing is getting the batter consistency right. Too thin and your pancakes have a tendency to cook too fast and not hold together, well, and too thick and they are like lumps of clay. It may take a few tries to get it just right for your taste, don't be afraid to experiment with this recipe, it's they best way to find your best batter.

I recommend that you use a good basic pancake mix. I don't like bisquick™ pancakes, they are too heavy and have way too high baking powder to flour ratio. My favorite pancake mix is New Hope Mills™ Buttermilk style, but I am not sure if it is available nationally. My suggestion is to find a decent buttermilk mix that give a fairly light pancake. The second tip is to not overcook the cornmeal in the prep, it's common to want to take the easy way out and nuke the cornmeal in the water, but this will cause the cornmeal to clump and make big gobs in the batter. Follow the method and you will have a good pancake.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Cornmeal ( yellow or white, doesn't matter)
1-1/4 Cup BOILING water
Your favorite Buttermilk Pancake mix

Directions:

Mix cornmeal with boiling water in a small mixing bowl stir and let stand for 5 minutes, stir again and let stand for additional 5 minutes, or until you can safely hold a finger in the mixture.

Follow the directions for your pancake mix, for a half a batch. Once you get it mixed up check the consistency, it should easily coat a spoon dipped into the batter. If the spoon comes out with a thick coating of batter, thin it out a little bit.

Once you have the consistency right, mix in the cornmeal paste into the pancake batter. Again pay attention to the consistency of the mixture, don't be afraid to thin it out. It should pour evenly, but not spread out too fast on the pan! ( I know it sounds picky, but once you figure it out, you will never need to think about it again, because you will always know exactly what your shooting for. )

Cook on a hot griddle, pour quarter cup each for pancake as many as your griddle will take. Mine only does 4 at a time, but there are some out there that can get up to 10. The recipe should yield between 18 and 24, 3 inch pancakes.

For breakfast, Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

Eat it!!

After thoughts:

If you wish to use these as a substitute for cornbread, they are amazing with chili, simply place a couple in the bowl then ladle the chili over the top. They will also work the same way with your favorite stew in place of biscuits.

If you make a double batch you can freeze the extra for use later, they nuke up quite nicely and very quickly.

Experiment with it, and find your favorite ratio and consistency. Never be afraid to experiment!