Easy Corn Pone Recipe [Southern Fried Cornmeal Bread] (Must Try!)
With this classic Corn Pone dish, we’re taking it all the way down to the South! Authentic Southern Corn Pone, a spin on the ubiquitous cornbread, doesn’t come any more traditional than this. It’s a basic, crispy, and golden brown eggless bread.
This flexible carb can be eaten on its own, covered in honey or butter, or served as a side dish with fried chicken or collard greens. Your pone can be served hot or cold.
WHAT IS CORN PONE?
Corn Pone is a cornmeal-based dessert that is free of eggs and milk. It’s an eggless cornmeal that’s fried and baked into palm-sized circles. It was born out of a need for individuals to be able to manufacture a filling carbohydrate with minimal ingredients. Corn pone is a Southern comfort food delicacy, despite its humble beginnings.
Alternative Video Recipe: Corn Pones – How to make Corn Pones
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CORN PONE VS CORNBREAD
When opposed to a light and fluffy cornbread, corn pone is significantly thicker and heavier. The lack of eggs and milk accounts for the texture and flavor differences. Cornbread has a cake-like, bready texture, whereas corn pone is more like a cross between a bread and a pudding. Corn pone is a no-frills type of cornbread that was traditionally made when money was scarce.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED
Cornmeal
Unsalted Butter
Baking Powder
Salt
Sugar
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Boiling Water
Vegetable Oil: or bacon drippings for frying
Optional Cooked Corn Kernels
HOW TO MAKE CORN PONE
- In a large mixing basin, combine corn meal, baking powder, salt, sugar, and butter.
- Half of the boiling water should be poured in and mixed with a spatula. Then pour in the rest of the boiling water and stir thoroughly.
- Combine the shredded cheese and corn kernels in a mixing bowl. Using your hands, combine all of the ingredients.
- Scoop roughly 2 tablespoons of the ingredients and roll it into a ball before flattening it. Rep with the remaining mixture.
- Add oil to a cast-iron skillet set over medium heat. When the oil reaches 350°F, carefully place the uncooked pones in the pan. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Cook, flipping every 1-2 minutes, for about 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Place the cooked pones on a platter lined with paper towels.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Make sure to use hot water for this recipe: For a great texture, make sure to use hot water.
- For the perfect pone, keep the oil temperature between 300 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Allow enough space for each piece to cook properly. Overcrowding the pan may result in undercooked bread, which no one likes!
Is Corn Pone the same as Cornbread?
No, not exactly. Consider corn pone to be a simpler variant of cornbread in the South. Corn pone is made with cornmeal, water, salt, and oil or bacon drippings, whereas cornbread includes eggs, sugar, butter, milk, flour, and baking powder.
Corn pone’s consistency is typically heavier and thicker than fluffy and airy cornbread. One of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite dishes was corn pone.
It’s Not Cornbread
Cornbread is an unusual bread. It has more ingredients not often seen in classic cornpone recipes, such as eggs, butter, buttermilk, and sugar. Cornpone is more of a survival recipe with simpler components in that aspect.
Cornmeal is the main ingredient.
Typically, this is combined with a light sprinkle of boiling water, salt, and butter. The most widely utilized fat was bacon fat. Over time, simple ingredients such as baking powder were added, and milk was substituted for water when it was available.
Adding any more ingredients, such as eggs, butter, or sugar, elevates it to the category of cornbread, yet some modern Cornpone recipes still include some of those extra elements.
Cornpone’s simplicity was motivated by despair and necessity. Under difficult and limited conditions, it was the only method to manufacture palatable bread.
A pioneer’s existence was frequently simple but never easy, and maintaining a range of meals on hand was always a difficulty. Despite the difficulties, it tastes pretty excellent.
It was normally baked, but it was also frequently cooked over an open fire in a cast iron pan. The foundation recipe for corn tortillas is a thinner variation of the basic recipe.
The difference was that cornpone was prepared into a thicker batter and, after frying, was considerably thicker than a tortilla. It was eaten hot or cold, just like bread, at any meal. Today, it’s frequently served with barbecued meats, soups & stews, and chili.
Are there other ways to cook corn pone?
Traditionally, corn pone is baked in a cast iron or other heavy-duty skillet in the oven. Combine your corn pone with one of our favorite Southern dishes.
PrintCORN PONE SOUTHERN FRIED CORNMEAL BREAD RECIPE (Must Try!)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
With this classic Corn Pone dish, we’re taking it all the way down to the South! Traditional Southern Corn Pone, a spin on the ubiquitous cornbread, doesn’t get much more traditional than this. It’s a basic, crispy, and golden brown eggless bread.
- 2 cups cornmeal medium grind
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup cooked corn kernels optional
- 1 ¼ cups boiling water
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine corn meal, baking powder, salt, sugar, and butter in a large mixing basin.
- Half of the boiling water should be poured in and mixed with a spatula.
- Mix with the remaining hot water thoroughly.
- Combine the shredded cheese and corn kernels in a mixing bowl. Using your hands, combine all of the ingredients.
- Scoop roughly 2 tablespoons of the ingredients and roll it into a ball before flattening it. Rep with the remaining mixture
- 1 inch oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When the oil reaches 350°F, carefully place the uncooked pones in the pan. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping every 1-2 minutes (make sure your oil is between 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Place the cooked pones on a platter lined with paper towels. Serve and have fun!
Notes
- For a better texture, create the batter using hot water.
- Maintain a temperature of 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit in the oil.
- Make sure the pan isn’t too crowded and that each component has adequate room to cook correctly.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: southern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 214kcal
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 361mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 31g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
Keywords: Corn Pone, bread, breakfast
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between cornbread and corn pone?
Consider corn pone to be a simpler variant of cornbread in the South. Corn pone is made with cornmeal, water, salt, and oil or bacon drippings, whereas cornbread includes eggs, sugar, butter, milk, flour, and baking powder. … Fun fact: Corn pone was one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite foods.
What is the distinction between cornbread and cornpone?
Consider corn pone to be a simpler variant of cornbread in the South. Corn pone is made with cornmeal, water, salt, and oil or bacon drippings, whereas cornbread includes eggs, sugar, butter, milk, flour, and baking powder. … One of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite dishes was corn pone.
Why is it called a johnny cake?
They were also known as journey cakes because they could be carried in saddlebags on long journeys and baked along the way.
… Some historians believe they were originally known as Shawnee cakes, and that the colonists slurred the syllables, pronouncing them as johnnycakes.
What does a pone of cornbread mean?
It all depends on what kind of dough you’re making in that skillet: “corn pone,” “biscuit pone,” “wheat pone,” and so on. Some people also make sweet pone with sugar or pone-pone with flour and cornmeal in the same bread. … When boiled (around the thickness of a drop biscuit), it becomes “a dumpling.”
More Corn Pone Recipes to try
Southern Corn Pone Bread
A bona fide Southern tradition! Authentic Southern corn pone is never sweet, and is baked in a cast iron skillet. Just like Grandma used to make!
Old-Fashioned Corn Pone Recipe
It may not be a food you eat on a regular basis, but this old-fashioned corn pone should be on your list of go-to recipes for many reasons. It’s easy to make, and it tastes absolutely amazing. Why wouldn’t you give it a try?