In the southern states of North America hush puppies are a staple at fish fries and barbecue cookouts. You’ll also find them served at most fish-based restaurants.
These delicious deep fried cornbread balls are excellent served with baked or barbecued beans, coleslaw or any time you want a flavorful crispy treat.
Basic hush puppies are made of cornmeal, flour, milk, egg and onion but you can put a twist on the traditional version by adding scallions, corn, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers or garlic.
This recipe calls for using Jiffy cornbread mix and a little sugar which makes a slightly sweet hushpuppy, but you can easily omit the sugar if you prefer. When we have buttermilk on hand, we use it as it makes a more flavorful hushpuppy but you can use regular milk if you prefer as we did in this recipe.
In addition, when we have fresh bacon drippings, we will substitute two tablespoons of milk for two tablespoons of bacon drippings for added flavor.
Ingredients
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp. milk (or buttermilk)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. self-rising flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 slices white bread, crumbled
Cooking oil or lard
Directions
In a medium size bowl, add the salt and pepper, sugar, baking powder and flour.
Then add the Jiffy cornbread mix & egg.
Finally add the crumbled bread & chopped onion.
Mix only long enough to ensure everything is wet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.
When you’re ready to cook, fill a deep fryer or a deep skillet with at least 3-4 inches of oil and heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Using a spoon, scoop out about 1 teaspoon of dough and form it into a ball approximately 1 inch in size. Immediately submerge the ball into the heated oil. Repeat with the remaining dough. You may only get 6-8 balls into a deep fryer at a time. This is ok. Do not overcrowd your puppies or they may become greasy!
If your oil temperature is correct, it will only take a few minutes for your hush puppies to cook. They should float and turn themselves over when they are about done but if not; you can turn them with a pair of tongs.
If you aren’t sure of doneness, remove one and test it. They should be fully cooked on the inside and a deep golden brown on the outside.
Drain puppies on a paper towel.
Important! Carefully watch your temperature as you cook. If it drops too low, your puppies will be greasy. If the temperature is too high, your puppies will be overcooked on the outside but still raw on the inside.