Browned Cornmeal Mush Recipe

Golden brown and crunchy on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside, deep fried cornmeal mush is a delicious breakfast recipe, snack or side dish. Similar to hash browns, browned cornmeal mush is very satisfying and filling. Before frying, the cornmeal mush must be cooled in a dish until it sets and can be sliced into flat rectangular or square pieces. The pieces are dredged in flour and egg batter to create the golden brown exterior when fried.

Sometimes called coosh, mush is cornmeal pudding or porridge that is boiled in water or milk and allowed to set into a semi sold form and cut into flat rectangles or squares and can be eaten as is or fried to make it crispy as in this recipe. A common dish in the United States, particularly in the southeastern, eastern and Midwestern parts, mush is customarily eaten with maple syrup much like pancakes. Corn meal mush is also very popular in Latin America and in Africa.

Ingredients

300ml hot cornmeal mush

1 medium egg

Corn oil

Corn syrup

Fine dry bread crumbs

Preparation:

1.       Pour the mush, while hot, in a small, deep pan first rinsed with cold water. When cold, turn out, slice crosswise, then in halves.

2.       Dip each piece in fine dry crumbs, then in the egg slightly beaten with one-fourth cup cold water, then in crumbs again.

3.       In the meantime, heat enough corn oil in a deep fat frying pan to half fill it. Put the slices in a frying pan and fry until golden brown in the corn oil which should be hot enough to brown a bit of bread in forty counts, 375 degrees F by the frying thermometer.

4.       Drain on crumpled paper and serve as a vegetable or as a breakfast or luncheon dish with corn syrup.