Hot Water Cornbread is a wonderful southern cornbread that is golden crunchy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. It’s great with all your favorite southern dishes.
Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.
Key to Success #1 – Self-Rising Cornmeal MIX
For this Hot Water Cornbread recipe, you’ll want to use a good quality self-rising cornmeal mix.
This is the cornmeal mix that I use.
You do NOT want regular cornmeal.
You want a cornmeal mix that is self-rising.
Cornmeal mix is basically a mixture of cornmeal, flour, and baking soda.
This will result in a light and fluffy Hot Water Cornbread.
I prefer to use a buttermilk cornmeal mix, but you can also use a white cornmeal mix.
Key to Success #2 – Add BOILING Water
To the cornmeal mix and salt, you’ll need to add boiling water.
The water must be boiling.
When you add in the water, the cornmeal mix will rise in the bowl.
Make sure your bowl is big enough to accommodate the cornbread batter as it expands.
I use a 7-cup plastic storage container like this one when I make my hot water cornbread.
Be sure to stir the cornmeal mix all the way to the bottom of the bowl so that you don’t have any dry bits in your Hot Water Cornbread.
Key to Success #3 – Hand-Form The Patties
Now, you’ve just made your cornbread batter using boiling water so it goes without saying that the batter is hot!
Be very careful to protect your skin from both the hot batter and the hot oil.
A great little trick to protect your delicate hands is to run your hands under cold water before forming the cornbread patties.
I use a large table spoon to portion out the batter then use my wet hands to form the batter into a 1-inch thick patty.
Then I place it into the hot oil.
Key to Success #4 – Make Sure the Oil is Hot
If you start frying up your Hot Water Cornbread before the oil is hot enough, your first batch will be a royal mess.
I have a little trick to making sure the oil is the right temperature before I start frying.
I get my hands wet then flick a little water into the hot oil. If the water starts popping immediately, it’s hot enough.
Hot Water Cornbread is crunchy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside.
I should also mention that it’s important to use a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet so that your cornbread will not stick to the pan.
We love to eat Hot Water Cornbread with Chicken & Dumplings or BBQ Smoked Sausages with Hashbrown Casserole.
Pin this Hot Water Cornbread recipe to your favorite Southern Dishes Board or your Bread recipes board.
Hot Water Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk or white cornmeal MIX
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 cups or more boiling water
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- In large cast iron skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until hot.
- In large bowl, combine cornmeal mix, salt, and boiling water. Mix well
- Wet hands with cold water then mold batter by hand into 1-inch thick patties. Place into hot oil. Cook about 3 minutes until golden brown then carefully flip over and cook another 3 minutes.
- Remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain.
Nutrition
Handpicked Recipe Favorites from My Kitchen, Just for You!
Disappearing Marshmallow Brownies