First time I ever had Johnny Cakes was at Husk in Charleston, SC (one of my favorite restaurants). They are like savory pancakes but made with cornmeal. Very yummy and a great side when served with a sauce or gravy.

I don’t know what inspired me to make them at home, or to combine them with pork, or to combine them with hunter sauce or to combine them with succotash. Whatever it was it all turned out fantastic and worked very well together. I came across this picture recently. I know I made this meal a while ago (know this because the counter top is our old house from years ago). Now I want to make it again, soon.

As a younger man, I would have made the hunter sauce from scratch. I’ve gotten lazy in my old age and the gravy packets do just fine for me. I usually make the gravy with my Jagerschnitzel with Spaetzle and German Red Cabbage Kraut meal, but again it worked very well here. I make pork loin a lot. It cooks super fast, they are very affordable and leftovers can be added to sandwiches (like my banh mi) or whatever. I also make succotash a lot. It adds a fresh and light component to this or any meal, especially when corn is in season.

I’d love to know if you make this or any component. Let me know in the comments.

Ingredients

Pork loin

• 1 or 2 pork lion
• Dale’s Original Steak marinade (or soy sauce)

Hunter Sauce

• 8-10 oz sliced mushrooms
• Olive oil
• Mushroom gravy mix (dried) packet
• 1 cup cold water

Savory Johnny Cakes

• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 fresh long slim red cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup milk

Succotash

• 3 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 strip of bacon (Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked is my fav)
• 1/2 bag of frozen Edamame, thawed (or Lima beans)
• 1 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Pork

1. Place the tenderloins in a large zip top bag and add the marinade. I would let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour adjusting it occasionally.
2. 30 minutes prior to cooking, set the pork out to come to room temperature. Pre heat oven to 450 F. Spray oven safe roasting dish with non-stick spray. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and continue cooking until desired temperature is reached (approx. 15-20 minutes). I basted the meat ever little bit. Let rest about 10 minutes prior to slicing.

Hunter Sauce (Mushroom Gravy)

1. Heat a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with olive oil.
2. Add mushrooms, toss and cook until mostly cooked through. They should release some liquid.
3. Add mushroom gravy packet and toss to combine. Slow add water while mixing until powder is incorporated. Bring to a boil and reduce to low. Cover and keep warm.

Johnny Cakes

1. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Coat pan with olive oil and add the cayenne pepper (if using) and onion and cook until translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, cayenne powder and salt. Add the onion mixture into the dry ingredients.
3. In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg. Add the honey and milk and blend thoroughly.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry mix. Stir just enough to combine. Don’t over mix.
5. Using same pan used to cook the onions, heat to medium heat, add batter in batches and fry until browned on both sides (similar to pancakes, you should see tiny bubbles before flipping).

Succotash

1. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add bacon and slowly render fat until crispy. Remove and set aside. Note: you can remove some fat if you like, I leave it in.
2. Increase heat to medium-high and add onion. Saute until onion is translucent. Add garlic and toss until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add corn kernels and toss to combine. Cook for a few minutes then add peppers and edamame. Toss to combine and cook another minute.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reduce heat and add half and half. Let simmer and reduce until thickened.
5. Chop bacon and add to succotash, toss to combine.