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Cush
HOT WATER SALT AND PEPPER BUTTER OR FAT FOR FRYING Crumble corn bread between the hands, add fat, and enough hot water to make the consistency like that of turkey dressing. Season well with salt and pepper, and fry in hot butter, stirring frequently. Eat for breakfast.
A skillet dish for using up yesterday's cornbread, built by feel rather than measurement. The only real variable is how much water you add.
- ProportionsThe recipe gives no measurements. As a starting point, figure roughly 4 cups crumbled cornbread to 3/4-1 cup hot water and 2-3 tablespoons fat, added a little at a time; that should feed three or four alongside eggs.
- "Consistency like turkey dressing"The crumbs should hold together when squeezed but still fall apart, damp rather than sloppy. Too much water and the cush turns to paste in the pan and never browns.
- Use dry cornbreadThe recipe does not specify, but day-old, unsweetened Southern-style cornbread works best; it drinks the water evenly. Fresh cornbread is already moist and needs far less liquid, and sweetened cornbread pushes the dish toward dessert.
- Fat and panThe recipe calls for hot butter, though bacon drippings or other rendered fat would serve as well and are commonly used in dishes of this kind; butter browns faster and can scorch. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat suits it.
- Stirring frequentlyStirring as directed keeps it from setting into a cake; leaving it undisturbed for a minute at a time will encourage crusty brown bits, at the cost of following the instruction literally.
- Season before fryingThe recipe has the salt and pepper going in with the wetted crumbs rather than at the table, which seasons the mixture through.
- ServingThe recipe says only to eat it for breakfast; hot from the pan is best, and it is often served with fried eggs, sausage, or cane syrup or sorghum.