How to make fried cornmeal mush
(I first published this recipe in 2009, before the advent of printable recipes. So, here it is with fresh pictures, a printable recipe card, and a video!)
I think that this dish may possibly have the least appealing name of any breakfast food out there, but trust me, it really is tasty.
I should probably call it fried polenta...that sounds much more delicious.
Cornmeal mush is an exceedingly frugal food, but in its original state, it's quite bland, and the texture definitely leaves a lot to be desired.
However, when it's cooled, sliced, and lightly fried, it's transformed into something crispy, buttery, and flavorful.
(and it's still really cheap!).
Since the cornmeal needs to be cooked and cooled ahead of time, you may want to make the polenta mixture the night before so that all you have to do is slice and fry in the morning.
If you don't have time to cook the whole batch, you can refrigerate the polenta for several days and fry it when you have time.
I use un-degerminated (whole) yellow cornmeal, but you can use regular cornmeal as well.
To make the cornmeal mush
First, bring 2 ¾ cups water to boiling.
While the water is coming to a boil, mix the cornmeal and salt with 1 cup water, to make a sort of cornmeal slurry.
A mini whisk is great for this (and so many other kitchen tasks too!) My particular mini-whisk is not widely available right now, but here's a similar one.
When the water comes to a boil, stir in the cornmeal slurry.
Bring back to a boil, cover, and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, or until very thick. This is a bubbly mess while it's cooking, so be sure to put a lid on your pot.
Pour the hot cornmeal mixture into an ungreased 4x6 inch loaf pan, and let cool for several hours. It can even sit in the fridge overnight if you like.
I slid my loaf pan into a plastic bag for overnight storage when I made this particular batch.
When the cornmeal mush is completely cool, it'll be firm enough to turn out onto a cutting board.
How to fry cornmeal mush/polenta
Heat up a skillet or griddle, add a generous amount of butter, and then slice the mush and place the slices in the butter to fry.
You might be wondering: how do I keep my fried mush from sticking?
Well, a nonstick pan is very helpful. And copious amounts of butter (or some other fat) are also key; this is not a time to be skimpy with the fat. If you try to cook these in a barely greased skillet, you are surely going to have sticking problems!
In conclusion: use a generous hand with the butter. 😉
Cook the slices until they're starting to crisp up on the underside, about 10 minutes or so.
It's nearly impossible to burn these at this point, since they have such a high water content. The bigger risk is flipping them before they're sturdy enough to hold together!
At first, you will think that these are never, ever, ever going to crisp up.
But with enough patience and evaporation, it will happen, I promise. They'll develop a delightful, buttery, browned exterior, which is super delicious.
Once the underside is browned, carefully flip each piece over and cook until the second side is browned, adding more butter as desired.
Do not worry if you break up a piece or two as you flip; I've been doing this for years and some of my pieces still end up a little mangled.
These are very tasty as is, but they're even better with butter and syrup (naturally)
Scroll down for the printable recipe.
If you thought cooked cornmeal was bland, give this recipe a try! These fried slices are buttery, crispy, and delicious, and they cost just pennies. Bring 2 ¾ cups water to boil in a pot over medium high heat. In a separate container, whisk cornmeal and salt with 1 cup cold water. Stirring constantly, add cornmeal mixture to boiling water. Return to boil, turn heat to low, cover with a lid (leave the lid slightly off-center to let some of the heat out) and cook for 10-15 minutes or until very thick, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into an ungreased 4x6 loaf pan, and let cool completely. (You can refrigerate once cool.) When ready to fry, heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a generous amount of butter. Turn cooked cornmeal out onto a cutting board, slice about ¼ inch thick, and place slices in butter to fry. Cook about 10 minutes on the first side (bottom side should be browned and slightly crispy), then flip and cook on the second side until browned and crispy, adding butter as needed. Serve hot with butter and syrup. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. This calculation does not include butter for cooking purposes.
Fried Cornmeal Mush
Ingredients
Instructions
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information
Yield 4
Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 136Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 8mgSodium 307mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 2gSugar 0gProtein 3g
You may also be interested in my other breakfast recipes:
The same can be done with cold grits.
We like to eat what we call "Hasty Pudding"
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 Tbl. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Bring milk almost to a boil, stirring constantly. Add cornmeal, stir 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Add butter and salt. Let sit 5 minutes. Yummy.
Instead of butter try frying it in bacon grease, oh how good it is
Your version looks like it might be pretty good. The version my mother made when I was a child, alas, was not. --Mary
Daisy, isn't that what Laura's grandma made in the first Little House book? The name sounds familiar.
Mary, I was a little skeptical at first when I heard about this recipe, but once I tried it, I became a believer! lol
Yum! I think if you added a little cinnamon or apple pie spice to that cornmeal mix it would be extra delicious! (I eat gluten free, and I had an idea of slicing these into long strips or even cutting them out with donut cutters for healthy GF 'donuts!')
Just found your blog and I absolutely love it...
Christina
Oh, that's right...these are gluten free! Cool. I'm such a flour nut, I rarely manage to make gluten-free foods. lol
LOL. I don't know? I got the recipe from someone else. I'm sure it's traveled the internet. 😉
I've never had polenta in my life... I should put it on my list of things to try.
When I saw the picture the first time, I thought it was fish! You know, those frozen triangular pieces 😉
This looks soooo good. I've never thought of having polenta for breakfast. I will have to try it!
Canadian Saver...oh my goodness! The thought of fish sticks with butter syrup is really gross. lol
These are much better than fish sticks, happily.
I love savory polenta (with rosemary and cheese) - it's a great alternative to rice or potatoes.
I have never had polenta. Maybe I should give it whirl.
Johnnycakes take on so many forms, don't they?
Here in New England we tend to add a little sugar to the mix but I really like the cooling and slicing. That looks much easier than how I make them (as pancakes.)
You could probably make the "batter" the night before and keep it in the chill chest for the next morning.
Oh and be sure and add plenty of Maple Syrup. If you aren't in New England and can't afford it a simple syrup with some maple extract added is a passable substitute (and has none of the HFCS of the fake stuff on the store shelves.)
Battra, yep, that's what I suggest. The longer the loaf of polenta chills, the easier it is to slice. I've made the mistake of trying to slice it too soon, and the slices just want to fall apart.
To me, that dish is just crying out for cheese. (Keep the butter, skip the sugar & syrup.) But that's just me. I don't mind leftovers and like last night's dinner for breakfast. Another variation I know of is to bread the slices (I'd use cheese + crumbs) and fry for dinner.
I'm so glad to see you use a slurry and avoid the hassle of adding cornmeal to hot water. It's so hard to do without creating a lumpy mess (anyone read "The Witch of Blackbird Pond"?) and doesn't taste any better.
I read that book as a girl 🙂 and as I was making this I was thinking how hard it must have to to prepare this over a smokey fire! Still have the book, maybe I will read it again!
@WilliamB, My mom used to make this and she fried it in bacon grease and served it with butter and jelly or jam. I thought it was good going to make it again
I grew up with "Mush" (a northern thing I think - my mom grew up on a farm in IL) and absolutely loved it! We only used maple syrup (no butter). When I got older and discovered grits in Texas, I decided they'd taste better with maple syrup for breakfast. In recent years polenta has become popular and I realized that it's just my mom's Mush that's embellished with other herbs at times to make a dinner sidedish.
Thanks for the memories. Love your blog; just discovered it in the last several months but I've always been a frugal person - "bargain-hunter", coupon user and garage/yard-saler but love the new emphasis on green living and lowering our carbon footprint. Just picked up a vanity stool from Freecycle yesterday. It has leg that I'm told keeps coming off but I know that either I or my dad can fix it. Thanks for all of your ideas. Keep up the good work and God bless you and your family!
I'm going to try this "your way" tonight. But I was just wondering if this could be made with chicken stock instead of water. Hmmm. Maybe I'll try that some time.
I had this for breakfast this morning with a fried egg, salt, and pepper, and it was wonderful! I have never had cornmeal mush before, and I like it. Good thing, because it's a frugal staple. Thanks for the recipe and tutorial!
If you want a really tasty side dish for a dinner meal (something italian or a side dish to a protien)
Dip the polenta into Parmesan cheese before frying OR cover it with Parmesan after frying.
My husband love fried mush. But when I fry it, it always sticks to the skillet. What am I doing wrong? I use a iron skillet with oil...over medium heat. I would appreciate your advice.
Hmm...I'd guess that you are not using enough oil (I use butter, and I need quite a bit of it), or that you are trying to turn them before they're ready. They need to cook for quite some time before they are sturdy enough to flip over.
Hope that helps!
Kristen...Thanks for your advice. I let them fry longer before trying to turn them and it worked beautifully. Thanks again.
@Norma,
You need to add more oil, and add butter as well.
Hey this page is great id like to start out with. Me and my roomate eat this a lot on our drive to work so covering it in butter or syrup does not work for us very well while in the car. We found that if we cook some bacon untill its very crispy then dice it up very small and add it to the mix it adds a whole bunch of flavor to it. We also use the left over bacon grease to fry the mush in.
Working on a fried mush breakfast burrito ill let you know if i come up with anything good there.
My mother made this and I loved it. Haven't had it in years! Making it tomorrow night for dinner w/scrambled eggs & bacon. Can't wait.
This is definitely fried mush... My uncle would make this every day. You see on Saturday night he would make the mush. He made enough to make a large loaf and would refrigerate it until it was ready to cook in the morning. He was a bachelor. This was his breakfast for the week. He would leave the loaf pan in the fridge and only slice what he would eat and cook that for breakfast. Usually two slices every day. Fried them up in a cast iron skillet that was well seasoned. Used butter to fry them in and when they turned a golden brown, then he would take them off, serve them up hot with Karo syrup. Never had it with maple syrup, but I suppose that would be good too. Since I only ever had it with the dark Karo, I look forward to that taste. Really brings back the memories.... Thanks...
love your website.your family is so blessed to haveyou.my grandma also lived on the farm and she made mush. it was so good.i begged her 4 it all the time. my daughter now asks me to make it. the slurry is tops no more lumps.thanks cheryl
Wow thought I was the only one still making "mush" . My husbands mother made it all the time, she added left over roast, finely chopped and for part of the liquid, beef broth from the roast. She usually floured it a bit before frying.
I, too, thought of "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" while reading this post! Great minds, you know... Sounds yummy, think I'll give this a try. I've never had fried mush, polenta, johnnycake, or whatever you want to call it. But I'm a big fan of cornbread so I'm thinking I'll like this too. Thanks for the tutorial!
YUMMY! I just finish my last strip ^_^ Thank you so much for sharing the Recipe! 🙂
My nana would make polenta! Thanks for the smaller recipe. She would always make big batches. A couple other ways to enjoy fried polenta is with butter and parmesan cheese or with red sauce on top. Meat or plain. Your choice. Yum.
Yummy! This was so delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Im from Minnesota and north Dakota. I especially remember mom making this on Christmas morning. She and my dad for some reason called it " fun house". This did not mame or my 3 brothers like it any beter.
Cook down scrapple or pudding meat in the water before adding the corn meal and you will have what the Penn. Dutch call paan haas. It has a peppery liver flavor.
This is one dish that really works well in a cast iron skillet. Simple, nutritious, and just loves loves blueberry, maple syrup, and chocolate. I like mine with simple salt and pepper as a side dish. Mild corn taste with a crunch.
How long does cornmeal mush keep in the fridge?
I'm not sure, as I've never kept it around very long. I think it would be fine for a few days, though.
My mother used to make this now and then for our family. She knew we kids wouldn't like the name "mush," so she called it "Golden Glow." The whole family loved this breakfast.
Thanks for the recipe. My mom made it too, with butter and syrup. I made polenta tonight and placed it in a pan as you suggested. We will have it for breakfast tomorrow. It brings back good memories if my Little Irish Mama. Come for breakfast.
I'm just reading this post for the first time, and I see that so many others have memories of this dish under various names. I'm a Latin teacher, and this is something I have also made with my students as an easy dish that the Romans ate as well. I made it with farina, but it's the same thing - cool it, cut it, fry it up with olive oil, and then drizzle it with honey, and you have an easy ancient Roman dish 🙂
Randomly looked up this recipe to go with our dinner tonight but we happened to have studied ancient Rome in homeschool today, so win-win!! Thanks!
Hi all -- the Romans could not have eaten it with ground corn as corn (maize) was not available in Europe until after 1492. (Food historian here!)
My husband’s family browned and chopped a pound of sausage and the added the cornmeal, milk and a little salt. Then it was put in a loaf pan and called to set up in the fridge. When it has congealed, it was sliced, rolled in dry cornmeal, and fried in a little oil until it was crunchy and golden. They called it “scrapple”. I think it is probably a refined version of the original recipe, but it is delicious.
My grandpa's wife (in Delaware) always ordered scrapple when eating out but said it contained all kinds of leftover pork parts so we would never eat it! Your scrapple version sounds much better!
I was born and raised in Delaware. And scrapple is definitely a food that you have to be born with. I married a guy from North Carolina and he looks slightly green every time I bring a batch home after a visit to the parents. Lol but if you ever get a chance to go to the Apple scrapple festival it is a hoot. 🙂
No matter what I do my fried mush sticks when I fry them
Are you using a nonstick surface? Plenty of butter? Is your mush completely cold and firm before you slice it, prior to frying? Do you let the pieces cook for a nice long time on the first side before turning? The underside should be starting to brown before you try to do any flipping.
Hope that helps!
My mother and grandmother made this when I was young. I would never try it because the name sounded so unappetizing. Many, many years later I tried it when it was called polenta. Now, I really like it, and had been waiting for the recipe to turn up somewhere.
I will often dust it with cornmeal and then oil (or I use some leftover bacon grease) a sheet pan and "fry" it in the oven, turning over once the bottom is golden brown. I learned this from my lovely mother-in-law, who was raised in eastern PA.
Can you eat it after the first step, skipping the frying part? Thanks.
You could, but it wouldn't be very delightful. It would be missing the flavor from the butter plus the crispy outside texture from frying.
Thanks! I just do not like frying things, both for convenience sake, and for health's sake!! ☺ God bless.
You could use a nonstick skillet, and then just a small amount of butter!
Soft cooked polenta is often served as a side dish with cheese and butter mixed in (sort of like a side of potatoes) or covered in a gravy or sauce like spaghetti sauce. I like a little warm, soft polenta topped with sauteed mushrooms and herbs and a fried egg--comfort food.
Oh yes, Sonia likes polenta like this, topped with a fried egg.
If I were not going to fry, then I'd definitely serve the cooked cornmeal hot, rather than cold and refrigerated.
Cornmeal is a fundamental food in the Caribbean. We eat it almost daily. I let the left over get hard and fry them the next day, cut into fries shape. I serve them as a appetizer or side dish, with a sauce of yogurt, lemon, garlic and cilantro, or some mayonnaise with horseradish. Try making arrepitas, a other great breakfast.
That sounds amazing! I think I have a new dish to try.
I fry up leftover oatmeal in the same way - sometimes it has raisins or dried cranberries in it.
I had always wondered what this was when you spoke of it!
Boiling water, corn meal and salt are the ingredients for my husband's favorite, corn pone. You use much less boiling water so that you make a thick cornmeal paste in the bowl, then immediately spread and fry it as a flat round cake about 1/2 inch thick in a small pre-heated skillet that has a small amount of melted lard or oil in the skillet, until the cake is golden with tiny black or dark brown flecks on the bottom, then flip and repeat. It was his mother's version of corn bread - she never baked corn bread, only made this kind of corn pone. It will still be quite moist inside when done on the outside. According to him, that is very important! She never wrote that down, so I tried over and over again until I did it just as he liked it. It's not my favorite, but he loves it. Because I make corn pone for him, he agrees to eat my favorite cornbread that's baked in a cast iron skillet, every other time we have corn bread.
Crispy with butter and maple syrup? Yum! Sometimes I buy mush in a roll form. Sliced and fried, it beomes a side dish for dinner. I make an easy roasted red pepper sauce to spoon over the slices. I'll roast a red pepper or buy it jarred and then whirl it with heavy cream in a blender. A bit of romano or parmesan cheese goes on top. My husband loves it.
We are reading “the sign of the beaver” in our homeschool curriculum right now, and it keeps talking about corn cakes, and I think that will be the perfect segue to getting my kids to try something new like this! Thanks for sharing, it looks delicious.
Fried mush is an original frugal dish. It’s an early American/Pennsylvania Dutch way to use up leftovers. The first day was cornmeal mush eaten as a hot cereal, much like how you would eat oatmeal, with milk, fruit and maybe a little sugar. Then the leftovers were fried the next day to use up what was left. I grew up eating fried mush, but we never ate it as cereal first. My mom saved tin cans to make it in. Once it hardened, she cut open the bottom, pushed the mush out so she could use the can as a guide to slice it. A favorite at my house growing up.
One other thing. We lightly floured the slices before frying. Helps mAke them stay together and flip easier.
One other comment. My mom lightly floured the slices before frying them. Makes them stay together and easier to flip.
My grocery store pick-up was out of mush just at the same time you published this- and boy am I glad you did! So, so easy to make and my husband thinks it's a tad better than store bought. I also buy it when I am in Amish Country. It's cheap, filling, but better yet: tasty! Thanks for the recipe. I will be making it homemade from now on.
Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! And yeah, it is crazy cheap to make cornmeal mush/polenta at home.
I bought a tube of it once and I thought it didn't taste quite as good as homemade; I'm not sure why, because the ingredients are very minimalist.
I dust my slices with flour and only use oil for frying. They turn out crispy every time. My family prefers these with just salt.
I like to make my slices more square, so I make my loaves thicker. I also dip them in milk and then in cornmeal before frying them in butter. I also salt and pepper mine. My son and I love them just that way, without adding any syrup. My daughter has found in the last year or two that she likes syrup on hers.
Can you freeze this for later?
I'm not sure it would work great to freeze this either before or after the frying. But, like I always say, you can try it and see!
Next time you make it, set a few aside and freeze them as an experiment. That way if it doesn't work out well, you haven't wasted very many.
We fry our mush in butter and serve it with Apple Butter!
My mother was making Corn Meal Mush for our breakfast in the late 50’s but only on rare occasions, usually in winter. It was always a treat! I probably haven’t had it since 1970 or a bit earlier. Never asked her for a recipe or how she made it, now she passed in 23. It popped into my head this morning, so I googled it and bumped into your post, so glad I did! I will definitely make some this week and the next time our grandkids spend the night.
My mom made mush all time. I now make it. It's delicious. We never cooked it in butter just oil. Sure still delicious no matter what you cook it in.