Hush Puppies

• servings: 8 to 10
• active time: 25 mins
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup minced onion

2 cups vegetable oil

Directions

How To Make Hush Puppies

Before you start, set up for frying. Put your pot on the stove, and pour in the oil. Get your slotted spoon or frying tool, and line a sheet pan with a double layer of paper towels for draining. Select a pair of soup spoons, or a small cookie scoop for portioning the batter.

Make the batter. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and whisk to mix. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture, just until combined. Then, fold in the onion.

Scoop and fry. Then, heat your oil to 375°F and prepare to fry. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions with one spoon, then use the second spoon to slip the batter gently into the hot oil, or use your cookie scoop. Fry the hush puppies in batches, 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Drain. Use your slotted spoon to turn them in the oil so they fry to golden perfection on all sides. Then, transfer to the paper towel-lined pan to drain.

Bacon-and-Caramelized Onion Hush Puppies

Increase onion to 1 1/2 cups. Cook 5 bacon slices in a medium skillet over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp; drain bacon on paper towels, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon. Sauté onion in hot drippings over medium-low heat 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Proceed with recipe as directed, stirring in onion and bacon with cornmeal mix.