Rhode Island Johnnycakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup fine white or yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 tbsp milk, plus more as needed
• 3 tbsp butter, for the griddle
• Maple syrup, to serve

Method

1. Whisk the cornmeal, sugar, and salt, then pour in the boiling water and stir until the meal drinks it up and turns thick — this brief scald is what makes the insides creamy.
2. Loosen with milk until the batter drops heavily from a spoon.
3. Melt butter on a griddle over medium heat and drop the batter in 3-inch rounds. Cook 5–6 minutes per side — longer than a pancake — until the crusts are deep golden and crisp.
4. Serve hot in overlapping shingles with butter and maple syrup, and taste why Rhode Islanders defend these with their lives.