HUSH PUPPIES ARE NOT SHOES!
I thought they were but no – they are little deep fried balls of loveliness that I forbid myself to cook too often!
This recipe is from my friend Chad who is fast becoming my bread baking mentor he says good cooks are artists and good bread bakers are scientists. When I do depend on science to make a loaf of bread it comes out really well but when I go off the beaten track like I have this morning – well anything can happen.
But Hush Puppies are not like bread and are a wonder to cook for easy going artistic cooks like me. 
This recipe is Chad’s grandmother’s recipe. She grew up in rural central South Carolina. Her name was Mimi.
And sweet Bloody Butcher ( a red Indian corn that can be traced back to the tribes who passed through this region for centuries – since way back before they were introduced to horses – and was not called bloody butcher until the settlers came across it which makes me think we should call it Red Indian Corn) is a wonderful cornmeal for Hush Puppies.
I also have a sale on Bloody Butcher Cornmeal at The Mill so when you do your flour shopping don’t forget to grab a bag. Also don’t forget to put an F next to your name so I can pop a sample of something new into your box. I love spoiling The Fellowship!
Did you know that the Bloody Butcher corn is so sweet you can eat it fresh like sweetcorn.
Mimi’s Hush Puppies
2 cups Bloody Butcher Cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pepper and Salt to taste
Half an onion finely ground/chopped
Stir up.
Then add
1 cup of cultured buttermilk mixed with 1 large egg.
Drop small spoonfuls into very hot oil. (I had trouble with the oil – finally settling on a local sunflower oil). Olive oil is also a good frying oil that gets really hot but I did not have enough and neither is it local.
Drain and eat with a dip if your choice. I mixed home made yoghurt with a home made sweet chili sauce.
Here in the Midwest, John tells me, they eat Hush Puppies with fried fish. But that was too much deep fried food for me so I ate mine with a salad.
These are a great treat!
Have a lovely weekend
Celi
31 Comments on “HUSH PUPPIES ARE NOT SHOES!”
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I learned a lot from this post and recently had the science/baking vs. art/cooking discussion with my grandson when he was baking his first loaf of bread
It is a bit of a science!
Never heard of Hush Puppies to eat, but in SA we have something similar that we call ‘vetkoek’. Translated it means Fat Cake, similar to a doughnut I suppose. Can be filled with savoury or sweet fillings. Laura
Fat Cake sounds like the perfect name for them!
You answered a question I hadn’t gotten around to asking from your Insta post. Mmm… hush puppies sound good… better than eating a comfy old shoe 😉
True that!
John is right about hush puppies going with fried fish, that’s when we ate them in Kentucky too. And Chad’s Mimi’s recipe is the way I love them, with soft butter. Lately if you ever get them in restaurants, where they are trending, they have sugar in them– No! They are best savory. In the South, the old story is the cook would toss them out the back door for the hungry barking dogs, saying, Hush, Puppies! Your dip & a salad are a good way to go, Celi, but in the good ole’ days, there would besliced summer ripe tomatoes, hot buttered corn, green beans cooked all day with country ham & onions, fried fish & hush puppies. Our little faces were covered in grease from the melted butter. (And Nobody was fat back then.)
Sounds delicious!
Lovely! What a feast.
Oh my! That all sounds wonderful – I can’t wait for the tomatoes and corn to ripen. Everything is so late this summer
I’ve had hush puppies with fish (and the shoes), down south, but that was a very long time ago. I’d love to try them with Bloody Butcher Corn, which I’ve seen, but back in the day people hung it on their front doors.
What were they thinking!?
I found out about them and they do sound very nice! 😋
A bit too nice I think
In Tennessee there was usually a fish fry involved. My Uncle had a set up, a cauldron with a propane blowtorch to heat up the oil. Then the fish (most times it was catfish caught that morning on a throut line) and hush puppies were tossed in. Good times.
I suspected they were all deep fried together! Hey there Pat!
Is cornmeal the same consistency as polenta meal? Apart from being savoury, your description makes me think of oliebollen, a yummy fried dough ball with raisins and cinnamon made for New Year in Holland. Greasy, delicious and addictive.
That sounds delicious.
definitely need to try these- how deep is the oil? I hardly ever deep fry anything……not too knowledgeable about deep frying.
AHAH- found the oil answer online:
•The Oil: A clean ruler placed in the pot can help you determine the line for a 2-inch depth of oil. (Don’t skimp; the batter needs to submerge in the oil.) For great results, the oil needs to maintain 375°. Too low and the hushpuppies absorb oil, too high and the outside burns before the inside is done. Plan to adjust the temperature dial on your range slightly up or down throughout the frying to keep the temperature at 375°. A candy/deep-fat fry thermometer (now sold in many grocery stores for about $5) is a must.
I first tried hush puppies at a fish shack in Raleigh, NC while visiting a friend about 20 yrs ago. My single attempt to make them myself was such a fail that I haven’t repeated it. They’re not shoes but they can taste as tough as shoe leather … at least mine did. 🙁
YUM! Thank you for sharing! I LOVE Hush Puppies but don’t dare make them…I would eat ALL of them the minute they would leave the pan!
My problem too!!
Here in Georgia – hush puppies with fried fish are standard fare. Thanks for the memory of the Hush Puppies shoe brand. I hadn’t thought of those in years!
As a displaced Southerner, I love my hush puppies. Thank you, miss c.
I don’t think I’ve ever had hush puppies but I’m not certain. One of the curses of being from the Midwest I suppose.
Hush puppies and fried fish… oh joy!
Another southerner chiming in , though a little late. Hushpuppies and fish are a definite yes. When visiting the grandparents in Georgia many years ago, my grandmother would make hush puppies to go with the meal even if we didn’t have catfish or flounder. My grandfather always had to have some kind of bread with the meal. They do make hush puppy mix in 1-pound(?) packages. All the dry ingredients and some flavoring ..like garlic powder, onion powder, pepper etc. you add the wet and fry them up. We never used deep fat, just a cast iron skillet and some crisco (many years ago) or canola oil today. They need to be flipped if in shallow oil.
To the person who asked, Polenta is made from a coarser grind, like Grits. Corn meal is finer, like a flour.
My husband and daughter both prepare food like artists – the recipe is just a suggestion, a jumping off point. This approach can work well for a stew or for pasta dishes,etc, but baking is SO much less forgiving! I don’t ask them to make bread for me anymore.
Had to laugh at the title. We knew hush puppies as comfort food long before it was comfort footed.
Ours are more golden ( different corn meal) and usually served with fish (catfish inland, flounder on the bay/gulf), shrimp, or any kind of sea food. Just wonderful
Some fancy them up by adding cheese in the mix, but a good plain hush puppy is a delight (and sign of a good cook- “Marry that one” they used to say
Hi Celi!
You’re such a beautiful angel. Who whips up yummy treats. Boy, is your family blessed!