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Hominy, Boiled

Boiled hominy prepared by soaking, boiling, and optionally frying, served with butter or lard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Hominy, Boiled

Ingredients

Directions

Soak

  1. Soak 2 quarts of hominy in 4 quarts of cold water overnight or for 6-8 hours before boiling.

Boil

  1. In an iron pot, bring the soaked hominy and soaking water to a boil, adding 8 quarts of cold water.

  2. Skim off any foam that rises to the top after it starts boiling.

  3. Cover and let the hominy boil for 3.5 hours, ensuring it does not stop boiling.

  4. If necessary, add boiling water to prevent it from boiling over.

  5. Once done, the hominy should be almost dry; remove it from the pot.

  6. Beat the hominy in a wooden tray.

Serve and fry

  1. Serve hot with butter.

  2. Let the hominy cool for frying later.

  3. Heat an iron vessel.

  4. Add a slice of butter and salt.

  5. Fry the cooled hominy in hot lard until light brown.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Hominy
Forms the main body of the dish; soaking and long boiling soften the kernels until tender.
Lard
Conducts heat in frying and adds fat, helping the hominy brown lightly on the outside.
Butter
Adds richness and fat to the hot hominy for flavor and moisture.

The step that matters

Keep the boil going for the full 3.5 hours. Hominy kernels soften only when held at a steady boil for the full time. If the boil stops, cooking stalls and the kernels stay firm. Topping up with boiling water, not cold, keeps the temperature steady and prevents boiling over.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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