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1
Measure the cornmeal and salt into a bowl. Bring the water to a full, rolling boil. Pour the boiling water over the cornmeal in a steady stream, stirring immediately. The mixture will tighten as the starch gelatinises. Add water or cornmeal in small amounts to correct: the dough is ready when it is moist enough to hold a shaped form but does not spread when pressed. Done when the dough coheres into a single, pliable mass that does not crumble.
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2
Divide the dough into eight equal portions. With dampened hands, shape each into an oval patty approximately 7 cm long and 1 cm thick. Uniform thickness is essential — a patty thicker than 1 cm will burn on the outside before the centre is cooked through. Done when each patty holds its oval form without cracking at the edges.
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3
Pour fat into a cast-iron skillet to a depth sufficient to reach halfway up the patties. Set over medium-high heat. This is where the dish lives or dies: the fat must be hot enough that a patty placed in the pan sizzles forcefully and immediately on contact. If it does not sizzle, the crust will not form and the patty will absorb fat and collapse. Done when a drop of water flicked into the fat snaps and disperses at once.
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4
Lower the patties into the fat without crowding. Fry without moving for 2 to 3 minutes. Done when the underside is deeply golden — not pale gold but a rich amber-brown — and the edges have set visibly upward from the bottom.
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5
Flip each patty once. Fry the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. Done when both sides are deeply golden, the exterior is audibly crisp when pressed with a fingertip, and the centre, though soft, yields rather than squashes. Remove to a rack or absorbent paper. Serve within two minutes: the crust softens as it cools.