Hoecakes

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
Hoecakes were one of the basic foods for families and soldiers of the South during the war. Hoecakes had been a food of slaves made like traditional African millet bread. It is basically a cornmeal pancake, fried on the flat blade of a hoe over a fire.

Hoecake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Cups finely ground cornmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder (In the War baking soda was a more likely rising agent but baking powder will work better)
1 1/2 Cup water
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh kernel corn (optional)
Vegetable oil or lard for frying

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except fresh corn and mix until just incorporated. Don't over beat.
Add corn until mixed.
Preheat a heavy cast iron pan over medium heat until a drop of water dances on the surface for three seconds before evaporating.
Pour in a small amount of vegetable oil to cover bottom of the pan.
Drop hoecake batter into pan to make cakes around five inches in diameter.
Cook a few minutes on each side until lightly browned.
Keep warm until served. Serve with a drizzle of cane syrup or maple syrup.


To cook over an open fire, use a very clean hoe or cook on the flat bottom of a cast iron pan.
 
Well, my grandma made what she called "Hoe Cakes" which was basically bread cooked in a cast iron skillet.
Thanks for posting this, I had no idea of the origin of the term.
 
David - I've seen lots of hoecake recipes that do not use eggs or even chemical leavening - just flour (white, cornmeal or a mix), some sort of fat (shortening, bacon grease, lard)) and some sort of liquid (milk or water). The recipe, as given, will be a lot lighter and more flavorful than a barebones version however.
 
A Civil War recipe used by soldiers:

Hoe Cake

'Mix a stiff dough of Indian (Corn) meal, a little salt, and water (scalding is best). Flatten it on a board and tilt it up before the campfire until brown on one side. Turn and brown the other side. When our fathers fought the Indians, and ground their corn in motors, they thought hoe cake very good. It can be baked in hot ashes or with hot stones (southern fashion)."

From: Food In The Civil War, http://www.us-civilwar.com/food.htm

A definition of Hoecake, Hoe Cake: From: http://www.foodreference.com/html/fhoecake.html

"A simple variation of corn bread, similar to corn pone and ashcakes. Made of corn meal, water and salt, and originally cooked on the flat of a hoe over an open fire, hence the name."

Other names for this type of corn cake are: Johnnycakes, johnny cakea, johnnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. These are all regional names for cornmeal flatbread. The name, exact type of batter and cooking method varies from region to region.
 
So is there a difference between a "corn dodger" or a "hoecake"? I'd heard of both but just assumed it was cornbread.
 
Corn dodgers, according to my research, are ball shaped, not pancake shaped. One recipe I saw called for cooking the cornmeal like grits, almost - bringing it to a boil with milk, salt and sugar - then taking it off the fire and cooling for a few minutes before adding the baking powder and forming into tablespoon sized balls. Sometimes the balls are baked, sometimes deep fried.
 
A Civil War recipe used by soldiers:

Hoe Cake

'Mix a stiff dough of Indian (Corn) meal, a little salt, and water (scalding is best). Flatten it on a board and tilt it up before the campfire until brown on one side. Turn and brown the other side. When our fathers fought the Indians, and ground their corn in motors, they thought hoe cake very good. It can be baked in hot ashes or with hot stones (southern fashion)."

From: Food In The Civil War, http://www.us-civilwar.com/food.htm

A definition of Hoecake, Hoe Cake: From: http://www.foodreference.com/html/fhoecake.html

"A simple variation of corn bread, similar to corn pone and ashcakes. Made of corn meal, water and salt, and originally cooked on the flat of a hoe over an open fire, hence the name."

Other names for this type of corn cake are: Johnnycakes, johnny cakea, johnnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. These are all regional names for cornmeal flatbread. The name, exact type of batter and cooking method varies from region to region.

We still make hoecakes this way around here though we do use a cast iron skillet instead of a hoe blade and canola oil instead of lard. I get corn meal from an old black man who grows his own corn and then hand grounds it – a lots better than store bought meal.
 
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