My plan for breakfast this morning was an unmitigated failure.
It started out okay. The Corn-meal Mush came right out of the pan in a single piece. I sliced it into strips and started heating some oil in a large fry pan. Now, I have almost zero experience frying foods in hot oil, so maybe I used too much oil, maybe too little, maybe the burner wasn't just the right temperature. I don't know. The strips never browned. They just kind of sat there in the bubbling oil and fell apart every time I tried to turn one over. There were actually two different recipes for Fried Mush in my cookbook. The first suggests breading the slices of Mush before frying them. The second suggests skipping the breading altogether.
I'm not sure where I went wrong, but I ended up with a mound of oily, hot-ish, half-congealed Corn-meal on my plate. (Just the thought now makes me queasy.) I was very doubtful at this point my breakfast could be resuscitated, so I was sparing with the Sirup. And after a few bites for penance - I'd had enough. Blech! I'm still trying to banish the sight and smell of it from my mind...
In honor of Dr. King and the National Day of Service, some friends and I spent the morning picking up trash on the banks of a dry riverbed. We had a good time - my legs feel like jelly! - but we managed to clean up one little corner of the Earth. What a lot of litter is out there. I picked up lots of glass and bottle caps and cigarette butts. Plastic bags, pieces of styrofoam, dish shards. A $5 Monopoly bill, a shower curtain rod. What surprised me was how much fast food trash we found. Napkins, receipts, bags, containers. It's as if people are just throwing the remains of their drive-thru lunches right out the window when they're finished. Double Blech!
9 comments:
It sounds like your oil wasn't hot enough. Usually, if the oil is too hot, things will burn on the outside and still be undercooked on the inside. If your food seems to just be soaking up the oil and not browning, it usually means it isn't hot enough. I usually find that doing a test piece is the best way to tell.
I know what you mean about fast-food waste seeming to make up a lot of litter. I sometimes day dream about what an archeologist from the future might find from our civilisation. Fast food evidence isn't really the sort of thing I'd like to leave behind. Sigh.
yes, i concur... you need to heat the oil before adding whatever you're frying otherwise it will just be soggy (like when you get poorly fried chips and they are soggy and gross...oil not hot enough)
So that's the secret! (I'd better learn soon, because this cookbook is chock full of fried dishes.) The Mush was definitely just soaking up the oil.
Here's a question: How do you think women in that day protected themselves from hot oil in the fry pan? Did they set aside their prettier aprons and put on their Mother Hubbards? I'd really rather not end up injured while trying to become a better housekeeper...
are you worried about your arms or your dress? an apron is a definite must... preferably a big one with a full coverage yoke...
and then, when adding something to the oil, it's a matter of being careful, and perhaps slipping it in with a spoon rather than dumping it in...
I'd say go with old aprons and a nice wide and flat-ish slotted spoon. You shouldn't have any problems unless whatever you are adding has water in/on it.
Honestly, I almost never fry things. Its just such a hassle-esp. since I hate cleaning up the greasy coating all over the kitchen-but I feel a bit inspired to do it again!
I make fried mush a lot. You don't need a lot of oil. Just enough to coat the surface, especially if it is good seasoned cast iron. Like as if you are making french toast. This makes a much more digestible fried mush. The mush should be cold so that a crust forms before the center warms up. 3/4 inch or 2 cm slices work best. A bead of water should sizzle lively on the griddle, neither just sitting there nor skittering off. Practice makes perfect.
W-E, definitely worried most about my arms and hands. My vintage tablecloth comes second as the table's pretty close to the stove!
;)
I think if I'm going to start working with hot oil from time to time, I'm going to have to invest in an apron with sleeves. I wonder if women of the '40s did the same. Or if they just got skilled at treating burns... There are soooooo many recipes in the cookbook that involved frying.
Thank you all for the detailed tips. Morag, I am working with a stainless steel pan, so maybe hot oil acts a little more tame in cast iron. Mine was bubbling and popping all over the place!
It very dangerous to put "wet" items in hot oil - water causes bubbling and popping. If you bread your mush, it will dry out the surface that comes in contact with the hot oil and there will be less popping. My grandmother used a round screen over her cast iron pans to minimize hot splatters. The screen is also great for minimizing spaghetti sauce splatters and you can get them at small town hardware stores everywhere.
Andrea
The Mush certainly still a lot of moisture still to it. I read a tip online (afterwards, of course) that it was better to try a fry two-day-old Mush than one-day-old. It's probably drier, so helps with the popping oil issue.
The round screen's a great idea! Thanks so much for the tip, Andrea. Boy, we can sure learn a lot from our grandmothers...
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