Spare Spoons Kitchen
Hush Puppies
The fish-fry sidekick — crisp little cornmeal fritters studded with onion, fried golden and eaten hot. Two spoons, a pot of oil, and five minutes of rest is the whole trick.
Ingredients
Easier, if you like
- A box of hush puppy mix gets you most of the way — Martha White Hush Puppy Mix (in the baking aisle); just add the egg, milk, and onion.
- Fry them in the oil right after the fish — the traditional move, and the flavor's a bonus.
- Air fryer: lightly spray a silicone egg-bite mold or the air fryer basket with oil. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons, spray the tops generously with cooking spray, and air fry at 375°F (190°C) for 10–12 minutes, flipping once at the halfway mark, until golden and cooked through. The outsides won't be as evenly golden as deep-fried and the texture is a little denser, but it works without a pot of oil.
Method
Cook's notes
Hush puppies are the fish-fry classic — cornmeal fritters fried in the same oil as the catfish. The onion is essential; some cooks add a little cayenne or chopped jalapeño.
No self-rising cornmeal or flour? Use plain and add 1½ tsp baking powder plus ¼ tsp salt per cup.
Let the batter rest 5 minutes so the cornmeal hydrates and the puppies hold together.
Two spoons make quick work of dropping even portions — dip them in the hot oil so the batter slides off cleanly.
Make it gluten-free (it's already vegetarian)
Gluten-free: use all self-rising cornmeal (or a gluten-free self-rising flour) in place of the wheat flour — plenty of hush puppies are all-cornmeal anyway.
See Betty’s original page
