Dried beans and dried corn will do very well for saccatash, but they must be soaked all night before boiling. The water poured on them for soaking should be hot.
WINTER SACCATASH.—This is made of dried shelled beans, and hard corn. Take equal quantities of shelled beans and corn; put them over night into separate pans, and pour boiling water over them. Let them soak till morning. Then pour off that water, and scald them again. First boil the beans by themselves. When they are soft, add the corn, and let them boil together till the corn is quite soft, which will require at least an hour. Take them up, drain them in a sieve; then put them into a deep dish, and mix in a large piece of fresh butter, and a little pepper and salt.
This is an excellent accompaniment to pickled pork, bacon; or corned beef. The meat must be boiled by itself in a separate pot.
HOMINY.—Hominy is Indian Corn shelled from the cob, divested of the yellow or outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. It is perfectly white. Having washed it through two or three waters, pour boiling water on it, cover it, and let it soak all night, or for several hours. Then put it into a pot or saucepan, allow two quarts of water to each quart of hominy, and boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain it, put it into a deep dish, add some butter to it, and send it to table hot, (and uncovered,) to eat with any sort of meat; but particularly with corned beef or pork. What is left may be made next day into thick cakes, and fried in butter. To be very good, hominy should boil four or five hours.
CAROLINA GRITS, or SMALL HOMINY.—The small-grained hominy must be washed and boiled in the same manner as the large, only allow rather less water for boiling. For instance, put a pint and a half of water to a quart of small hominy. Drain it well, send it to table in a deep dish without a cover, and eat it with butter and sugar, or molasses. If covered after boiling, the vapour will condense within the lid, and make the hominy thin and watery.
SAMP.—This is Indian corn skinned, and then pounded or ground till it is still smaller and finer than the Carolina grits. It must be cooked and used in the same manner. It is very nice eaten with cream and sugar.