I received several comments about my hushpuppies when I posted that I made them when testing my new turkey fryer. Several of you asked for the recipe and I am finally posting it. Sorry that it took me so long.
Hushpuppies are definitely not something I grew up eating. They are a southern food for sure and are often served in restaurants in Oklahoma and other southern states.
The first few times I had them I did not really like them. They seemed very dry and not very tasty to me. What I learned though was that hushpuppies can be very good, if cooked right.
Hushpuppies are basically deep fried corn bread and corn bread can be dry and crumbly if not prepared right.
Hushpuppies are the same way. All it takes is a nice moist batter to make a good hush puppy.
My sister and brother in law were recently visiting and I discover that my brother in-law loves hushpuppies. My sister and I grew up in Oregon, but my brother in-law grew up in Texas, so he knows about good hush puppies.
My husband and kids love hushpuppies, so I decided that since my brother in law enjoyed them so much it would be a perfect time make some.
The turkey fryer worked great, but really you can use any deep fryer or even a pan with oil in it. You are basically frying them just like you would any other fried food.
What are your thoughts on hushpuppies? Have you ever had them? Do you like them?
Homemade Hush Puppies
Homemade hushpuppies are a classic southern treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cornmeal ( You want to use fine cornmeal or they will be gritty. I do not recommend the stone ground cornmeal for these as it will effect the texture.)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 cup canned creamed corn
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in corn, milk, and egg and stir just until combined.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees.
- Drop batter by the spoonful into hot oil. Do not over fill the pan or they will not cook as well. It will take several batches to cook all of these.
- Fry hush puppies for about 5 minutes. If you are frying these on the stove top you may need to turn them while frying in order to brown all sides.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 141Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 485mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 3g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
I like my hushpuppies with a little grated onion it it.
I like hushpuppies and I like them with onion also. I dip them in ketchup sometimes. Funny thing is, hushpuppies are served as a “bread” side to various dishes in the south depending on where you are. For instance, in TN and GA hushpuppies accompany fried fish but in NC hushpuppies accompany barbecue.
In the ’80’s my aunt (who has transplanted from the south to the west coast) requested that we bring her hushpuppies and country ham (salted) when we came to visit in Oregon, since there were no restaurants that served hushpuppies or country ham. So, we would go to Long John Silvers (a fish fast food restaurant), order 100 , flash freeze them and carry them on the plane along with packages of ham from the grocery. You can’t do that anymore!
@Lisa, That is too funny. Thank you for sharing that. A southern transplant would have with miss good old southern food like country ham and hushpuppies living in OR. It is amazing how different food can be in different parts of the country.
Here’s the story I’ve always heard about the origin of hushpuppies: In the “old” days when the kitchen was in a separate building from the main house, the cooks would have to get the prepared food into the main house without the dogs tripping them, trying to get the food. They used the leftover batter and would fry it up and toss it out saying, “Hush, puppies” and were able to safely carry the food while the dogs gobbled up the bread.
@Kelli, Thank you for sharing that! I had never heard that and that is very interesting.
Wow. As a good ol’ southern gal I never considered the idea that someone might not appreciate, let alone know, what a hush puppy was!!!! ;-D These are certainly staples around here in the great state of Virginia, but I personally haven’t made them. My husband spent most of his childhood in Louisiana so he truly misses hushpuppies! Down there they have them with various kinds of seafood, but espeically crawdads (crayfish) caught from swamp areas and fresh running water. He’s already asking me to try this recipe!!! Thanks for sharing!
@Danielle B, What can I say, us northerners are clueless on so many of the good old southern favorites. 😉 I was clueless on a few other things like grits, okra, biscuits and gravy, and other things also, but after 16 years in Oklahoma I am learning to cook and enjoy southern style food. 🙂
@Lynn,
I also am a Northerner learning to cook Southern food. I lived my entire life in MN until I married my husband from OK (we are living in OK now). Before we married I had never fried any food besides eggs but now I am frying chicken and okra. It is a fun process to learn the Southern way to cook. I appreciate your blog so much because I also am from the North and am now living in the South and learning all about their way of cooking. I get so many wonderful ideas from your blog.
I love this post because I have been wanting to make hushpuppies lately so thanks for sharing. I also love the comments. I am from Virginia where we ate them mostly with seafood but I did not know the history behind them. So cool.