Silver Dollar Corn Cakes with Smoked Honey Butter
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Biscuits, cornbread, dinner rolls—we have nothing against these carby sides, but your cookout guests will see them coming from a mile away. On the other hand, the silver dollar corn cakes with smoked honey butter from Ed Mitchell and Ryan Mitchell’s new cookbook, Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque, are equal parts drool-worthy, unexpected and easy to make.
“These corn cakes are to beans and barbecue what tortilla chips are to salsa and guacamole—the perfect vessel for scooping up food,” explain the authors. They pair beautifully with meaty mains (pulled pork! brisket! ribs!), as well as baked beans, mac and cheese, chili, collard greens and roasted tomatoes.
If you can’t find bourbon-infused honey, make some yourself. “Mix a few drops of good bourbon, like Woodford Reserve, into your favorite honey,” the authors suggest. If you (like us) don’t have a smoker at home, add a few dashes of liquid smoke to the butter or use smoked sea salt in place of the kosher salt.
Excerpted from Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque © 2023 by Ed Mitchell and Ryan Mitchell. Photography by John “Edge” Koladish. Reproduced by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
Smoked Honey Butter
½ to 1 cup (1 to 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
⅓ cup bourbon-infused honey
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Corn Cakes
1 cup old-fashioned stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup self-rising flour
⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
1 cup almond milk or oat milk
2 tablespoons light molasses
¼ to ½ cup vegetable oil
Hot honey or molasses, for serving
Directions
1. Preheat your smoker to 200ºF with oak or pecan wood chips. If you don’t have a smoker, skip this step and see the note above.
2. Make the smoked honey butter: In a medium stainless-steel bowl, combine the butter, paprika, pepper, salt and garlic powder. Add the bourbon-infused honey and mix with the butter. Put the bowl on the grill and smoke the butter for 8 minutes. Do not let the butter scorch. Let the butter cool for 3 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and nutmeg. Mix the butter with a spoon or an electric mixer. Cool at room temperature until it solidifies; cover and store in the refrigerator for up to two days.
3. Make the corn cakes: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the almond milk, ⅓ cup cold water and molasses until blended. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add just enough vegetable oil to coat the pan (about 1 to 2 tablespoons). When the oil shimmers, drop the batter by the teaspoon into the skillet for true silver dollar-sized corn cakes. Sear each corn cake on the first side until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a metal spatula, flip the cakes and cook until light golden brown on the second side, about 1 minute more. Drain the corn cakes on paper towels. Repeat until all the batter has been cooked, adding oil to coat the pan between batches. Serve the corn cakes with the smoked honey butter and hot honey or molasses.
1,142 calories
79g fat
106g carbs
10g protein
57g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.