Southern Spoonbread

Growing up as the child of deep south parents (mother from southeast central Virginia and dad from South Carolina and a grandmother that lived with us, also from southeast central Virginia) I ate dishes that many folks never encountered. Spoonbread was one of them. A savor pudding like cornbread, spooned from a deep dish right out of the oven and loaded down with lots and lots of butter. I have even seen some of the relatives have it for breakfast and in addition to the butter they covered it with syrup. Try this recipe and see if you can come up with other ways of serving this fabulous dish whose origin is well over a hundred years ago.

You may notice the cornmeal in the picture is marked "Fine Ground". My mistake. I grabbed the cleanest bag in the cupboard, not realizing it was the wrong bag. The mistake was not caught until we were reviewing the recipe. I apologize for the mistake. By the way, we have made this recipe using the find ground cornmeal and it turned out fine (no pun intended).

Step 1: Ingredients

In some parts of the country, course ground white corn meal may be hard to find. Course ground yellow corn meal may be easier to find or easier for your grocer to order in for you. However, Grits are course ground white corn meal and available in almost any grocery store. For those following a more specialized food regiment, Bob's Red Mill White Corn Meal is offered in many health food stores..

Ingredients

2c White Corn Meal

3 Large Eggs

1 1/2c Whole Milk

2c Boiling water

3T Butter

1t Salt

Step 2: Mixing and Cooking

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Sift cornmeal 3 times and mix with Boiling Water. Stir until smooth and free of lumps
3. Add salt, butter, and milk and stir to combine
4. Separate the eggs and beat both the whites and yokes until they are light. Recombine the yoke and whites and add to the corn meal mixture. Mix well
5. Pour into and oven proof deep dish that has been lightly buttered and place that dish in a water bath
6. Bake in a 350F oven for 45 minutes or until the center is set
7. Serve at once.

My favorite way to eat spoonbread is with lots and lots of butter and black pepper.

Enjoy