Hush Puppy Tips

Matt_in_the_OC

I made some hush puppies the other night. They seemed dry and bland. When I look at other recipes, it seems I used the correct amount of buttermilk. I will be switching from scallions to onions and that should help the bland problem.

Anyone have a recipe they would like to share and/or tips on the consistency of the batter?

Richard Fl

This should help!

Hushpuppies, Elder Ward

In the old days it was common for the kitchens to be built a good distance from the main house on the plantations down south to keep from burning them down. They were wild times and all folks kept hound dogs running lose in the yard to keep away unwanted guest and for protection against the less savory type known to steal and kill. The poor slaves and servants of that time had to navigate the area between the kitchen and the main house. This involved carrying large amounts of food that could be a handful and no one was there to keep the packs of dogs out of the food or from jumping up and knocking them down and you can bet that the owners didn't care for a loud ruckus for no reason at all. You can imagine who was held responsible if that occurred. Hint it weren't the dogs. So the slaves use to make these corn balls up, place them in their apron pockets, and as they walked toward the main house with the food they would throw them to the dogs and say "hush puppy hush puppy". The r


INGREDIENTS:
2 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda (Arm & Hammer)
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 onion chopped
2 eggs (chicken type)
1 cup buttermilk (no 2% stuff here)
1 Tbs butter unsalted, melted
Peanut oil (enough to fill a cast iron skillet at least 3+ inches deep)




Procedure:
1 Combine all ingredients except the oil. Peanut oil is my favorite to cook this in and here is the important part, make sure the oil is hot enough to evaporate a drop of water when it is dropped in the oil. You must use high heat and never cook too much at one time or it will cool the oil and the hush puppies will be soggy. :~(
2 When the oil reaches temperature, take a teaspoon and scoop enough dough mixture to create a ball that is just a hair to big to eat in one bite. Carefully drop this into the oil. When it floats and is golden brown, use a wire strainer to lift out of the oil and place on paper towels to drain. Break the first couple open to be sure that they are done inside if not cook a little longer this is a feel thing but not hard to get. (THIS IS THE LAST THING YOU DO BEFORE YOU EAT AS THEY ARE AT THEIR BEST PIPING HOT AND GO DOWN HILL FROM THAT POINT ON.) They are not bad cold or cool just not great.
3 One last thing, here is my twist. If you're a chili head, or as we us to say, a real man, try chopping up 1 jalapeño pepper, seed and all, per cup of dough, or if company has a mild taste, fix half with half without. Boy howdy!


Servings: 1

Recipe Type
Bread, Side Dish

Recipe Source
Author: Elder Ward

Source: BGE Forum, Elder Ward, 2005/03/02

Austin Smoker

Some minced jalapeños always do the trick for me....

Matt_in_the_OC

Nice on the sugar! Thanks!

Matt_in_the_OC

It is a tough call.

Capt Frank

Just put a splash or two or three of Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce in the batter, easy peasy :P