Hush Puppies are actually came about as a bi-product of souther fish fries. After frying their catfish they would simply throw together the left over milk, egg, and cornmeal breading, which could no longer be used for anything else, and deep fry spoonfuls of the batter in the same oil that had been used for the fish. Now you might ask why someone might call these fritters a Hush Puppy. Well culinary history states that while at these outdoor fish fries many neighborhood dogs would be drawn to the smell. Begging for food, the dogs would bark insesivley for some scrap of food; so to make the themhush for a few minutes the dinners would throw these fritters so for the dogs to "Hush". Needless to say the name just sort of stuck, leaving the rest to history.
My take on a hush puppy is something that I always make when I fry any sort of fish. But to add extra flavor to these fritters, which is in the form of sweet red pepper and green onions. Though I do reserve these for fish fries they also go well with clam bakes as a nice side dish.
Confetti Hush Puppies
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tablspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup buttermilk
2 egg finely beaten
5 cups peanut oil
In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, salt, onion and pepper mix well so that the onion and pepper are finely coated.
In a large pan heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 350* (if you do not have a thermometer then you may do the spoon test explained in the blog on fried chicken). Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons into the oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry the puppies until they are golden brown on one side, then flip so that they brown on the other. Remove from the frying liquid to a rack that is placed over a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Serve immediatley.
Makes about 50 Hush Puppies.
Add in the buttermilk and mix until moistened. Add in the egg and mix until a fine paste is formed.
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