Sunday, September 29, 2013

Hush Puppies

6 cups cooking oil
1 ½ cups self-rising cornmeal (I only use Martha White, coarse ground)
½ cup self-rising flour
½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt
1 small onion, chopped
3 or 4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup buttermilk (always the real thing)
1 egg, lightly beaten

For variety, you can add freshly-cooked bacon, chopped or crumbled. Sometimes, I add shredded cheddar so that I have a variety of flavors. For example, I start with the basic recipe and make three batches, one just straight, one with bacon, and one with cheddar. Sometimes I even make one batch with both bacon and cheddar.
Using a large, deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Dip the spoon in the hot oil after each hushpuppy is dropped in the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies as needed during the cooking process.   


Cheryl Waters