Hushpuppies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup fine-grind cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 1 large egg beaten to blend
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded, finely chopped
- Vegetable oil for frying; about 6 cups
Instructions
- Sift flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper into a large bowl to combine. Add butter and work in with a pastry blender or your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal (the largest butter pieces should be no bigger than a pea).
- Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add egg and buttermilk to well. Gradually incorporate into dry ingredients, mixing from the center out, until a smooth batter forms. Add onion and jalapeño and mix gently just to evenly disperse (be careful not to overmix).
- Pour oil into a large heavy saucepan to come halfway up sides and fit with thermometer. Heat oil over medium-high until thermometer registers 350°F. Using a 1-oz. scoop or a tablespoon and working in 2–3 batches, carefully drop balls of batter into oil and fry, turning often with a spider or a slotted spoon and adjusting heat to maintain temperature, until hushpuppies are puffed and deep golden all over, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain and let cool slightly.
Notes
The first recorded use of the word “hush-puppy” dates to 1899. The name is often attributed to hunters, fishermen, or other cooks who would fry some basic cornmeal mixture (possibly that they had been bread-coating or battering their own food with) and feed it to their dogs to “hush the puppies” during cook-outs or fish-fries.
Other legends date the term to the Civil War, in which Confederate soldiers are said to have tossed fried cornbread to quell the barks of their dogs.