Salt Cod and Johnnycakes
Shredded salt cod, desalted and warmed with onion and a touch of good fat, served on small skillet-cooked cornmeal cakes (johnnycakes). A robust, salty plate marked by dried fish—the very taste of Atlantic commerce.
Shredded salt cod, desalted and warmed with onion and a touch of good fat, served on small skillet-cooked cornmeal cakes (johnnycakes). A robust, salty plate marked by dried fish—the very taste of Atlantic commerce.
Before the gilding of the Treasury, sir, I knew the counter and the scale. In the islands, we clerks ate what sailors ate: salt cod from the Northern banks, which must be soaked in plenty of water, and those cornmeal cakes they call johnnycakes, browned on the hot griddle. It is coarse, it is salty, it sticks to the ribs for a long day of ledgers and figures. I am not ashamed to remember it: a man is made, sir, not born.
- •Dried salt cod — a piece (preserved protein)
- •Cornmeal (Indian meal) — two handfuls (cakes)
- •Boiling water or milk — as needed (dough)
- •Lard or butter — a little (cooking)
- •Onion — one (garnish)
- •Molasses — a drizzle (optional sweetness)
Salt Cod and Johnnycakes
Shredded salt cod, desalted and warmed with onion and a touch of good fat, served on small skillet-cooked cornmeal cakes (johnnycakes). A robust, salty plate marked by dried fish—the very taste of Atlantic commerce.
Why this dish? Before becoming a minister, Hamilton, orphaned as a teenager, worked as a clerk in a trading house in the West Indies (St. Croix). Salt cod and johnnycakes were the ordinary food of the Caribbean islands, the daily fare of a poor boy who became a master of accounts—far from the suppers of Philadelphia.
Before the gilding of the Treasury, sir, I knew the counter and the scale. In the islands, we clerks ate what sailors ate: salt cod from the Northern banks, which must be soaked in plenty of water, and those cornmeal cakes they call johnnycakes, browned on the hot griddle. It is coarse, it is salty, it sticks to the ribs for a long day of ledgers and figures. I am not ashamed to remember it: a man is made, sir, not born.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried salt cod — a piece (preserved protein)
- Cornmeal (Indian meal) — two handfuls (cakes)
- Boiling water or milk — as needed (dough)
- Lard or butter — a little (cooking)
- Onion — one (garnish)
- Molasses — a drizzle (optional sweetness)
Ingredients
- Salt cod fillet — 300 g (protein)
- Fine cornmeal (yellow semolina) — 200 g (cakes)
- Boiling water — 250 ml (dough)
- Milk — 2 tbsp (softens dough)
- Butter or oil — 30 g (cooking)
- Onion — 1 (garnish)
- Pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- The day before, desalt the cod for 24 hours in cold water, changing the water 3 or 4 times.
- Poach it for a few minutes, drain, remove skin and bones, flake into large pieces.
- Sauté sliced onion in butter, add the cod, pepper; keep warm.
- For the johnnycakes: pour boiling water over the cornmeal, add a little salt (the cod is salty enough), add milk for a thick batter.
- Form small cakes and cook in a hot, buttered skillet until golden and crispy on both sides.
- Serve the warm cod over the johnnycakes.
How it was made : Salt cod was a currency of the triangular trade: caught in the North, dried, shipped to the West Indies to feed slaves and workers cheaply. Johnnycakes (from Native American via cornmeal) were cooked on a stone or griddle before the fire. This was the humble everyday fare, a world away from the great tables.
The contemporary twist : Top each johnnycake with a piece of cod and a thin slice of raw red onion: a "New World tapas" version for standing and snacking.
Sources : Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, 1796 (Johny Cake / Indian Slapjack)
Alexander Hamilton · Charactorium
