Civil War Recipes: Hoecakes and Ramrod Biscuits

The Civil War changed the way the South eats forever. Families and soldiers alike had to do with what they had- the Union Army blockaded food and seed from reaching the south by road, train or ship. Soldiers in particular had to scrounge up what they could to keep up enough strength to continue fighting. Official Confederate Army food reserves were low and often, soldiers had to subsist on what they could find. Two of the basics were hoecakes and ramrod biscuits.

Hoecakes, up until the war, were mostly a food of slaves, made in similar fashion to traditional African millet bread. They are basically a cornmeal pancake, fried traditionally on the flat blade of a hoe over a fire. After the first year of the Civil War, flour and wheat supplies from the North were all but dried up and dent corn, which grows well in the South, took wheat's place as the grain of choice.

Ramrod biscuits represented more a method of cooking rather than a particular recipe. Dough, whether made from wheat or cornmeal, was wrapped around a soldier's musket ramrod and cooked over an open flame until browned. The dough cooked in the center from the hot ramrod and on the outside from the fire.

Both of these foods became staples for both Confederate soldiers and for families trying to survive the winter until fresh vegetables could once again be planted. They were basic and filling and saved thousands of lives. Hoecakes are still a popular part of Southern foodways.

Hoecakes

2 cups finely ground cornmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder (in the War, baking soda was a more likely rising agent but baking powder will work better)
1 1/2 cups water
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh kernel corn (optional)
Vegetable oil for frying

Combine all ingredients except fresh corn and mix until just incorporated. Don't overbeat. Add in corn (optional) until uniformly mixed in. Preheat a heavy cast iron pan over medium heat until a drop of water dances on the surface for three seconds before evaporating. Pour in a small amount of vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Drop hoecake batter into the pan to make cakes about five inches in diameter. Cook only for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned. Keep warm until served. Serve with a drizzle of cane syrup or maple syrup.

Note: if cooking traditionally over an open fire, either use a VERY clean hoe, preheated or turn a cast iron Dutch oven over the coals and cook hoecakes on the flat bottom.

Ramrod Biscuits

2 cups wheat flour (makes an easier dough to wrap than cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water (add more if necessary to make firm dough)

Mix all dry ingredients then add water and knead into a firm, stretchy dough. Let rise in a warm location for a half hour then briefly knead again. Turn out onto floured surface and roll dough into a long rope approximately an inch in diameter. Cut into one foot lengths. Heat a thick metal ramrod over an open flame then carefully wind a piece of dough around the bottom end. Let the heat of the rod firm up the dough for five minutes then cook over an open flame until lightly browned. Slide carefully off the end of the ramrod.