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What is a Hoecake
Nothing smells better than Hoecakes cooking in the morning, or any time of day for that matter! A towering stack of Hoecakes served with melting butter and maple syrup makes everyone happy! Paula has always loved preparing these delicious cornmeal cakes for her family and friends. Over the years they have become a signature dish from Paula’s kitchen and one that all patrons who visit The Lady and Son’s Restaurant can enjoy on their visit to Savannah. Paula’s Hoecakes are served with every meal and provide a delicious “Welcome to the South.”
Hoecakes have served as a staple food for many years and have been given a multitude of names. Originally they were made from ground Indian corn and cooked on hot stones over a campfire. The name some Native Americans gave them was “jonican” and many regions now call them Johnny Cakes. Another name they have been given is “corn pone” referring to the ground cornmeal they are made from, or, when cooked over an open campfire where there were ashes, “Ash cakes.” However, here in the South, the thin flat bread cakes were originally cooked on the face of a planting hoe held over an open flame. The hoes used by field hands had a wider face and were a perfect surface for cooking these flat bread cakes. Consequently, the name, “Hoecakes” was born!
Through the years we have thankfully abandoned cooking with a garden hoe, but one of Paula’s prized possessions is the cast iron Hoecake pan she inherited from her Grandmother Paul. She cooks her Hoecakes, as well as biscuits on this treasured pan. Paula has warm memories of cooking with her grandmother on the very pan she now uses to cook hoecakes for her grandson, Jack. Don’t worry though, if you don’t have a hoecake pan, these amazing cakes can also be made in a hot cast iron skillet or on a griddle. Sometimes on a griddle, the edges will cook with a bit of a lacy effect, and some people call them “Lacy Cakes.”
No matter what you call them, Hoecakes are a wonderful, easy treat for any family. You can have them at home or even on a camp out! All you need is a skillet and a fire.
Recipe Links:
Hoecakes
Okra Laced Hoecakes
Lace Hoecake Cornbread
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Reader Comments:
Hey Paula, Love the Turkey Meatloaf and the Hoecakes. I noticed Bobby includes all the nutritional information with his meals. Can you do the same. I have a medical diet I'm on so I always have to know everything I'm eating fats, carbs, sodium ect... I love your new healthier line but I can't make them because they dont have nutritional info. Just a thought. PS you look GREAT! Keep it up. Regards, Nancy Mendi nancy1405@optonlin.net
By Nancy Mendi on January 09, 2013
Paula: My sister and I had these when we visited Lady and Sons a couple years back and we still argue which was the best - the hoe cake or your mac and cheese. We finally decided we loved them both - too hard to choose between. I'm planning on having a "hoe cake" tomorrow nite with pinto beans and slaw. Sounds good for this snowy,icey,cold week we're experiencing. May fix some of the creamy mac and cheese to go with it.
By spanky on January 11, 2011
since a little girl, one of my fondest memories is of visits to my grandparents’ and watching grandma cook hoecakes and fried apples on an old wood stove. to this day, i regularly make them myself ... always remembering grandma and the wonderful scents that came from her kitchen. life has certainly changed since then and some of it not for the best. hoecakes and fried apples (among other things) for the “grand” sunday breakfast help bring back a sense of slowing life to a more pleasureable pace ... at least for a little while.
By shirley krueger on November 24, 2010
the caddo tribe of oklahoma had a similar bread recipe, ‘Top Bread”, cooked the same way, i have been trying to find the recipe with no luck so far, my ex’s granma parton used to make top bread. lila m. parton, neah bay, wa
By lila m. parton on November 12, 2010
i remember as a little girl my grandmother cooking hoe cakes on a wood stove . she always had a few left over which she put in the pie safe and when i got home from school ihad a snack of them with onion or syrup .those were the days
By anne lester on July 20, 2010
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doris in The Secret Garden on May 19, 2013 at 3:11 pm
I love reading about your family and seeing your pictures. I respect the fact that you are teaching your son's family values because so much of that seems to be going by the wayside anymore..maybe someday we will meet and by that time your son's may even have their own cooking show.lol..wishing you lots and lots of love from this country girl's kitchen to Brooke Deen's kitchen of love.
Linda Miller in The Makings for a Perfect Father’s Day on May 19, 2013 at 11:44 am
Love this idea. I want to do this for my sister n law for the new addition of the family. What a wonderful way to celebrate a new baby in the family.
Kimberly McKinney in How to Host a Sip and See on May 19, 2013 at 10:54 am
I love Orchids but fine it hard to kept alive for very long. I love the way you display
Syndie Reynolds in Paula’s Love of Orchids on May 13, 2013 at 10:59 pm
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