Julie Clark
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Fried Mush
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What to do with leftover cornmeal mush? Make fried mush, a delicious alternative to pancakes or waffles. Serve with maple syrup for a lightly sweet breakfast treat.
Fried cornmeal mush is a classic breakfast for Midwesterners. My husband and I both grew up in Ohio. He grew up in the Southwest part of the state and I grew up in the Northeast part.
Over the past few years I’ve learned that just because we both grew up in Ohio, that doesn’t mean we had the same food traditions. Matt was crazy about this thing called “fried mush”. I wasn’t so sure…until I tasted a butter-fried, golden brown slice of cornmeal mush with a drizzle of 100% maple syrup. Life changed.
Have you ever tried this breakfast idea? Or do you have a unique topping? Leave a comment so we can try it!
Difference between Mush and Polenta
From what I understand, these recipes are very similar. Polenta tends to be used as a side dish and is often more savory, with cheese and spices added. Fried mush has traditionally been used more like a breakfast with a sweet topping. Both have corn meal as a base and both are delicious.
Fried Cornmeal Mush or Fried Polenta
You need to plan ahead if you’d like to make fried mush. You must start the day before by making cornmeal mush. This is like a thick porridge. Think traditional oatmeal…but with cornmeal instead of oats. (You can read all about how to make cornmeal mush here.)
Once you have that made, pour it into a 9×5 loaf pan that you’ve very lightly greased and allow it to cool to room temperature. Don’t be tempted to cover and refrigerate right away. The steam will be trapped in the pan and your “loaf” will end up like soup. Don’t ask me how I know this. 🙂
In order for the cornmeal mush to set up completely, that steam needs to escape, so let the pan cool completely, then cover it and place it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. I prefer to refrigerate it overnight so that the mixture is nice and firm.
How to Make Fried Mush
When you’re ready to make fried mush, turn the cornmeal loaf out onto a cutting board. I cut the loaf into about 10 slices, then cut those slices down the middle so that I end up with about 20 squares. I find that by cutting the loaf this way, the squares cook more quickly and hold together better.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and allow the butter to melt in it. Place the cornmeal slices on the hot skillet and allow the first side to get golden brown. This takes 3-4 minutes on our skillet, but watch closely since each stovetop and pan are different. You don’t want your fried mush to burn.
Once the first side is golden brown, then turn the slices and fry the other side. Add more butter to the skillet as needed if the cornmeal starts sticking.
What to Serve on Fried Mush
Cornmeal mush by itself can be rather bland. Some may like it that way, but I don’t care for it. Think of this like cornmeal pancakes. We think a drizzling of maple syrup is all this breakfast needs. You could also drizzle with honey, strawberry sauce, raspberry sauce or even sausage gravy. Sprinkle with coconut if you have it available. Yum!
Serve alongside bacon, fried eggs or sausage for a complete breakfast.
Fried Mush
What to do with leftover cornmeal mush? Make fried mush, a delicious alternative to pancakes or waffles. Serve with maple syrup for a lightly sweet breakfast treat.
Servings 20
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons butter (for frying)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cornmeal, milk and salt.
- Slowly pour the cornmeal/milk mixture into the boiling water, stirring constantly.
- Bring it to a boil again, then reduce heat and stir almost constantly (to avoid clumps) for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is thickened to the consistency you like.
- Pour this mixture into a lightly greased 9×5 loaf pan and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once the cornmeal has cooled, cover it with plastic wrap and place the pan in the refrigerator overnight or until the mixture has become firm (at least 8 hours).
- Remove the cornmeal loaf from the pan and slice it into 1/2″ to 1″ slices. (We usually slice the loaf into 10 slices, then cut those slices in half so they cook more quickly and make smaller pieces.)
- Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, add the slices and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and heated through. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.
- Serve immediately with maple syrup or honey if desired.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe being cut into 20 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 53kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 41mg | Vitamin A: 70IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Tools to Make This Old Fashioned Breakfast Recipe
- 9×5 Loaf Pan: These are the pans I use for quick breads, yeast breads, fried mush and more!
- The Best Pancake Griddle: Get pancakes, fried mush and even potatoes done quickly on this non-stick pan.
Cornmeal is my favorite thing! Growing up in an Italian family we used it to make polenta regularly and cook it pretty much the same grief slices. However this sweet version looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make and thank you again for another great addition! I pray you are all well and shining your most beautiful lights on this world! 💗
I fry my mush in vegetable oil, then I fry an egg to go with it and put some s&p on it and eat it as is. Yummy!
I am only commenting for toppings. My Mom just loved apple butter on her fried mush. I think sometimes she put her home made rhubarb sauce on it too. Also, she would maket her mush in a 9×13 pan. She would cut her slices about a half or a third as thick as yours (probably about 1/4″). I’m sure it’s what she grew up with. She grew up on a farm, during the depression, in north central Ohio.
Mush is delicious sliced thinly, fried and sprinkled with salt. We kids would gobble it up faster than grandma could fry it. We used a brown sugar syrup on ours and I still prefer it to Maple syrup.
2 cups brown sugar
1cup water
Optional tbs or 2 of butter
Simmer and reduce to desired thickness.
Can this be cooked in the air fryer
I don’t put milk in cornmeal mush. (In fact, I’ve never heard of doing that.) Our recipe was a simple 3:1 ratio of water to cornmeal. I’ve had this ever since I was a kid. You can brown and crumble a pound of breakfast sausage in it before you spread it in the pan to set up. My mom would fry it in bacon grease, which adds more flavor but is decidedly higher fat.
I prefer to use white cornmeal as my mother did and to slice it thin and fry til a little crisp around the edges and eat it with just Real butter. So yummy
We never used milk to make this, just water, but now I’m curious and will have to try the cup of milk. We always lightly dredged each slice in flour before frying, and served with butter and syrup or occasionally grape jelly (my grandparents had grapes in their yard when my mother was a kid, and made grape jelly rather than buying syrup, which was not affordable for them at the time — my mother had a grape jelly habit all her life from that). We’re from southwestern Pennsylvania and have had relatives living in and around Akron since WWII,… Read more »
I also grew up in the Midwest and remember my mother making this for my brother and myself for breakfast on cold snowy mornings. I made the recipe as written and it firmed up in the refrigerator just fine. Frying it was impossible. It never got crispy on the outside and remained totally mushy on the inside. As I tried to turn it, it fell apart. I ended up stirring it and putting it in a bowl to eat. Can you tell me what I did wrong?
My mother made this. She would take the slices of mush and dip in a egg wash and role in flower
Used to get this as a kid in certain restaurants, but haven’t been able to find it for a long time. Thanks for the recipe I’ve been craving it for a while!
I just made my first batch and it was bitter ( not like mom used to make!). Cornmeal was in an unopened package straight from the store. Cooked and stirred it the full 15 minutes on a gas stove. Set up just fine but it was bitter.
What did I do wrong?
MUSH!! Great so many ways but has anyone fried it,
Put it at the bottom of a bowl and covered it
with CHILI? It’s delish..really!!
I’m an Aussie and I’ve only had this once, but it was slightly different. It was during a cheesemakers workshop and the instructor used 3cups of water to 1 cup of cornmeal + 2 tablespoons of acid whey left from one of the cheese recipes. She soaked that for 24hrs in a warm spot in the kitchen and cooked per your recipe for mush. It gives a lovely sour tang that works amazingly with honey for fresh mush. The next day she dried up the leftovers and we had it for morning tea with clotted cream and jam like you… Read more »
My Dad grew up during the Depression (born in 1919) and his mother used to make this, Scrapple, after butchering with pork broth, and I just made a batch today. Cooked up some pork neck bones yesterday, picked off the meat and put the meat and broth in refrigerator over night. I’ve tried it with other bits of pork to make broth, but the neck bones are the best. Just skimmed the fat and then followed the directions for making mush. No milk for us, we just use the pork broth and we like Lawry’s seasoned salt for the seasoning.… Read more »