SOUTHERN CORNMEAL HUSHPUPPIES
Hushpuppies are round cornmeal dumplings that usually accompany a big dish of fried fish. There are many different ideas as to how hushpuppies got their name. If you check the internet, you will come up with some of the following: 1. Confederate soldiers used their corn biscuit rations to feed to their dogs to quiet them in order to avoid detection from Union soldiers, hence the phrase hushing the puppies. 2. It is believed that while cooking fried foods with batter outside such as fish, balls of batter were fried and given to the dogs to keep them from begging or barking, thus the name “hush puppies”. 3. (This one is my favorite. I am a Kentuckian and it makes sense to me.) They were fried up to toss to the dogs to keep them quiet while the “revenooers” were snooping around looking for stills. Whatever explanation, fried catfish just isn’t the same without hushpuppies.
3/4 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup onion, diced (can be regular or green onions) 1/2 teaspoon salt Pinch of cayenne 1 egg (Optional) 1/2 cup buttermilk or beer 1 cup cooking oil (I use Canola)
Combine cornmeal, flour, onion, salt, egg and milk. The batter should be just wet enough that you can shape it into balls about the size of a walnut with your hands and it sticks together. Have oil hot in a skillet and drop hushpuppies into oil. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes browning on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towels. This makes about 10 to 12 hushpuppies. You can double or triple the recipe. Enjoy! You might like my Pan Fried Cod Fish Fillets or Fried Catfish Fillets. Don’t Forget to Pin Hushpuppies! 
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How about using a small ice cream scoop to keep them uniform in size.
Throw in a can of drained rotel with chilies and you are cooking. Best you will ever eat.
I don’t put flour in mine and I don’t make balls, I just spoon it into the hot oil and it comes out perfect.
the first time I ever had Hush Puppies, many, many years ago on vacation in Virginia, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. they are delicious. being from Wisconsin, yummies like that weren’t even a thought back then.
Thank you…so many wonderful helps!!!!
Dogs shouldn’t eat onions or anything with onions in it. Bad for their health. (Just a thought.)
I don’t use any flour in mine. I use white self rising cornmeal, 1 egg beaten to approx 2 cups cornmeal, finely diced onion, and beer to make the batter thin enough to form into balls. You need to use room temp beer and after mixing, let the mixture sit for at least 1 hour without disturbing to allow the yeast in the beer to rise.
These will be the best you have ever eaten.
how much cornmeal?
That’s the wonderful thing about hush puppies…you can add so many different ingredients in them and they always turn out great!
Just like I do except for cayenne pepper……the beer makes them light and fuffly
This is the way I make mine, but I add a little green bell pepper and I add a little oil to the batter.
tablespoon of sugar added. yum
These look good!
I put a jalapeno, diced sweet onions, and grated cheddar cheese in my hush puppies .
Once out of desperation I used salsa in the batter (I usually add some ketchup) and found this to be the best addition ever!
Sounds good Lia. I like to dip them in salsa anyway.
Grate a potato in the hushpuppy receipe…..good
Use Cattail Cornmeal for making hushpuppies fried in Crisco Oil….drain well on paper towel and serve immediately with real butter…onion powder works well in this recipe if you don’t want to cut up onions. Follow directions on the bag. Yum 🙂
If you fry your hushpuppies in deep oil they will turn themselves over when they are brown enough and brown the other side. No foolin!
I have even added a bet of hot sauce to them just as to add a little falvor.
I prefer to use white cornmeal for these and I use a grater for the onion so u don’t get onion pieces in the puppy!
Love me some good homemade hushpuppies! Ever added kernel corn to them? Great dipped in homemade jalapeno nacho sauce. Wish I had some right now with a big ol’ platter of fried catfish!!
Another one I have heard is that when slaves were escaping north during the civil war they would feed these to the dogs to aid their escape.
Without ever having had the real thing before, I have tried to make these, except I always used baking powder to make them puff up just because I imagined them puffing up as they are being fried. Is that ever done, not done, or is there some other property that makes them puff up?
You can use baking powder if you like. I just make them into balls and they seem to stay the same size I make them. If you use the beer instead of milk they are lighter and fluffier.
I’ll have to try them this way..