Cornbread Griddle Cakes

These simple corn pancakes make a great base for Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork topped with homemade Sweet Cherry Salsa. Cornbread Griddle Cakes are also delicious on their own as a supper side dish or as a breakfast entree topped with butter and maple syrup.

Corn Cradles

Ever since the day after I last ate at the Loveless Café I have wanted to make Cornbread Griddle Cakes. I don’t know why it never crossed my mind before. Akin to both basic cornbread and everyday pancakes, this tasty bread is easy to make. It seems kind of obvious now but it wasn’t until that day that I felt inspired to make some for myself.

At the Loveless Café, the Pit-Cooked Pork Barbecue caught my eye. It was featured on the menu among their Supper Platters, served with Cornbread Hoe Cakes. Honestly, I felt somewhat indifferent to the Hoe Cakes. After all, the Loveless Café is known for its world-famous Biscuits.

That said I still wanted to taste the Pit-Cooked Barbecue. The menu described it as slow smoked over Tennessee hickory wood. Having recently indulged in a Memphis BBQ Crawl with guests from out of state, I wanted to see how the Loveless Café Barbecue would stack up. And so I placed my order with a willingness to ignore those Hoe Cakes altogether. It wasn’t until my plate arrived that I realized the Cornbread Hoe Cakes were intended as a cradle for the pork and were an integral part of the entrée.

Discovering Corn Cakes

I admit that I hardly even tasted the corn cakes that day. The Hoe Cakes came from the kitchen covered with pulled pork barbecue and topped with barbecue sauce. The generously sized entree was served with two sides, fried okra and slow cooked southern green beans. The meal also included a plateful of those famous biscuits with butter and jam. By the time I ate my sides and sampled the biscuits I had little room left. I scarcely tasted the barbecue let alone the cornbread cakes underneath it all. I did, however, take the remainder of my barbecue home and the cornbread hoe cakes went with it.

It wasn’t until I warmed my leftovers the next day that I really discovered those griddle cooked corn cakes. Honestly, I was surprised that they were even edible after resting under the barbecue in the take-out box all night. The good news: not only were they edible but really delicious! I determined then and there it was time I learned to make them myself.

Persistent Inspiration

Next thing I knew I had the latest issue of Southern Living in my mailbox. Flipping through the pages I found a barbecue tutorial and a recipe for pork filled Griddle Cakes with fresh cherry salsa. Never before had I considered serving pork barbecue on corn cakes. Then, here it was, right in front of me, twice in one week.

Not that I followed the recipe in the magazine. Instead, I did some research whereby I unearthed another recipe or two. Then I sort of worked out a happy medium of elements I liked in each one. The result was a recipe for some delicious cornmeal pancakes (hoecakes, griddle cakes or whatever you like to call them). Those pancakes made a great base for my own Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork topped with some homemade Sweet Cherry Salsa. I’m sure they would also make a nice simple supper side dish all on their own.

Enjoy!

Cornbread Griddle Cakes

Course: Bread, Main DishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

Simple and delicious, these cornmeal pancakes can be served as a base for barbecue, a side with dinner, or topped with butter and syrup for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups cornmeal

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1 Tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil or melted butter

Directions

• In a large bowl thoroughly combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs and oil (or butter).
• Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the well and stir until smooth.
• Heat a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) or griddle over medium high heat. When hot, add a little oil or bacon fat to lightly grease the pan. Pour batter onto the hot skillet, 1/4 cup for each cake. Cook over medium heat until bubbles form and begin to pop, the edges are dry and the bottom has browned. Flip the griddle cake and brown on the other side.
• Keep cooked griddle cakes loosely covered with foil in a warm oven (on its lowest setting) until ready to serve.

Notes

• Recipe Source: Inspired by an entree at the Loveless Café and a recipe from Southern Living.
• Serving Suggestions: Top with Slow Cooked Pulled Pork and Sweet Cherry Salsa for a delicious entree. The same combination of Pulled Pork and Cherry Salsa would also make a nice appetizer served on miniature Griddle Cakes (just pour less batter on the griddle for each cake.) Cornbread Griddle Cakes also make a good side dish on their own, served with salsa or spread with butter.
• More Serving Suggestions: These also make great pancakes. Top them with honey or maple syrup and serve for breakfast or even dessert.