Fried Cornmeal Mush

   Our family grew up in Ohio and one of our greatest pleasures was eating Grandma Fletcher's fried cornmeal mush with butter and maple syrup. Cornmeal mush is not to be confused with southern style grits, but rather compared to Italian polenta. A simple explanation is--cornmeal grits are coarsely ground, polenta is a finer grind and mush is made with an even finer ground cornmeal.
   One rule of thumb; don't buy cheap ground cornmeal in a round cardboard container on the grocery store shelf unless you like bland mush with no flavor. If possible, buy from an Amish store. If you must buy from the grocery I would recommend Anson Mills fine ground cornmeal and store in a plastic bag in your freezer.
   The recipe is simple because there are three ingredients: Cornmeal, salt and water.  My grandma used to shred leftover ham and blend it with the mush while cooking. I'm a purist, and prefer mine fried in Crisco in a large skillet, turning once when the edges start to get golden and crispy. My family prefers our fried mush buttered and covered in maple syrup; just like a stack of pancakes. If you prefer not to do it yourself, there is always Bob Evans--but it isn't the same as homemade.

Fried Cornmeal Mush

Ingredients:

1- cup fine ground cornmeal
3- cups cold water
1- teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Mix cornmeal in one cup of cold water and set aside.

2.  Boil two cups of cold water in a medium-size, heavy gauge pan over high heat and add salt when water is boiling briskly.

3.  Remove pan from heat (because it is going to bubble up) and slowly whisk the cornmeal/water mixture into the boiling water until smooth.  

4.  Reduce heat to medium and cover. The mixture will continue to bubble. I recommend wearing long sleeves and using a long handled wooden spoon when stirring to avoid getting burned (speaking from years of experience). Continue cooking and stirring frequently for an additional 10-12 minutes until the mixture is thick.  

5.  Pour into a loaf pan rinsed in cold water, or two clean soup cans rinsed in cold water for round loaves. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.

6.  When ready to cook, remove from loaf pan or soup can and slice thinly. Heat Crisco or oil over medium high heat and add slices of mush to hot oil with a pancake rather than your fingers to avoid getting burned with hot oil. Don't crowd the slices because the edges will stick together and become difficult to flip. I recommend covering with a splatter guard while the mush is frying because it is like frying bacon! When mush is golden around the edges, flip with pancake turner and continue frying until crispy. 

7. Transfer to serving plate and serve with your choice of toppings. (I usually drain on paper towels to removed excess oil before transferring to a serving plate-just like cooking bacon). By the way, fried mush is excellent with bacon...