Hush Puppies

Addy’s Cookbook, p. 24

1 small onion

1 ½ cups white cornmeal

½ cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

¾ cup milk

2 to 3 cups shortening

Peel and cut the onion into tiny pieces. Set the onion aside.

Measure the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir them together.

As usual, I'm automatically sold on anything that includes cornmeal.

Crack the egg into a medium mixing bowl and beat it with a fork until it is well mixed.

Add the onion pieces and milk to the egg. Mix well.

Stir the egg, milk, and onion pieces into the cornmeal and flour mixture.

Put 5 layers of paper towels on the counter next to a deep-fat fryer or stove.

Melt the shortening in the deep-fat fryer or a skillet over medium-high heat. The melted shortening should be 2 to 3 inches deep.

When the shortening is hot, drop the batter into the pan. Use 1 heaping teaspoon of batter for each hush puppy. You can fry 5 or 6 hush puppies at once.

You can - but by the end I got impatient and I was doing like 8 or 9 per batch.

The hush puppies will sink into the hot shortening. Then they will rise to the top. After 1 to 2 minutes, the hush puppies will be golden brown.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the hush puppies. Let them drain on the paper towels.

Rest well, little puppies.

Add the next batch of batter. Follow steps 8 through 10 until all the hush puppies are fried. Put the hush puppies on a plate and serve them with fried fish. 

In our case, because Matt hates fish, we ate them with cheesy veggies instead for a nice filling meatless meal.

My Rating: 4/5 "Really good - much better than the mealy fast-food hush puppies I've been eating all my life. There just something satisfying about cornbread, and the onions are a great savory addition. Simple and tasty!"