1 c Cornmeal
1 c Flour
1 md Yellow onion; peeled,
-finely chopped
6 Green onions; finely chopped
-(use only 2-inches of the
-green part)
2 ts Baking powder
1 ts Salt
1/2 ts Fresh ground black pepper
1 Egg; beaten
3/4 c Buttermilk
Howard Mitcham, a New Orleans authority on just about everything, is a
wonderful and charming man. He explains that hushpuppies got their name in
antebellum days (“before the war”). In the summertime the slaves cooked
their meals over an outdoor fire. Overcome by ravenous hunger and by the
delicious smells rising from the skillet, the family dog would walk around
crying and whining. The cook would toss him one of these deep-fried tidbits
and say, “Now. Hush, puppy!” Hushpuppies may be spoon-dropped, patted into
small cakes, or rolled into balls. The spoon-dropped type are the easiest
and seem to be the most crispy and tasty. You can fry them in the same fat
in which you have cooked the catfish. This is Mitcham’s recipe:
Mix the dry ingredients and the onions together. Blend the egg with the
buttermilk and stir into the dry ingredients. You will have a very thick
batter.
Allow the batter to sit for 1/2 hour and then drop by the tablespoonful
into deep fat at 375?. Deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels
and keep warm in a 200? oven until serving.
From The Frugal
Yields
4 Servings