Be quiet doggy! About This Page:

[AKLRULZ]

Do you like hushpuppies?! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img]

[ILuvDisney]

Uh huh! Especially when served with fried seafood or barbeque. [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img]

[Fortissimo]

You eat shoes? [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]

Steve, is there something you're not telling us? [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[MegglesMom]

YUM!! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Although, last year, DH and I tried to make them ourselves. BIG disaster, and the house smelled like oil for weeks. Ugh!

[stretch2864]

I love hush puppies although I only get to eat them if we are down south. The best ones I had were at the Salty Dog in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img]

[BostonTeaParty]

What are they? I thought they were shoes too. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[ILuvDisney]

Hushpuppies are finger-shaped dumplings of cornmeal that are deep-fried and traditiionally served with fried catfish. Also know as corn dodgers, they are especially popular throughout the South. There are several interesting stories of the origins of hushpuppies:

The oldest story is that hushpuppies originated in the settlement of Nouvell Orleans (later called New Orleans, Louisiana), shortly after 1727. They were created by a group of Ursuline nuns who had come from France. The nuns converted cornmeal into a delicious food that they named croquettes de maise. The making of these croquettes spread rapidly through the southern states.

An African cook in Atlanta is said to have given the name hushpuppy to this food. When frying a batch of catfish and croquettes, a nearby puppy began to howl. To keep the puppy quiet, she gave it a plateful of the croquettes and said, "hush, puppy." Since the name was cut, it stuck. This same story is also attributed to a Creole cook.

Hunters and trappers could be on the trail for days at a time. At suppertime the hunting dogs would get hungry, so the hunters would mix a batter out of cornmeal or flour and cook it in grease on the campfire. Then they would throw the fried dough to the pups, telling them to be quiet, shut up, or "hush."

Confederate soldiers would sit beside a campfire preparing their meals. If they detected Yankee soldiers approaching, they would toss their yapping dogs some of the fried cornmeal cakes with the command "Hush, puppies!"

In the South, the Salamander was often known as a "water dog" or "water puppy." These were deep-fried with cornmeal and formed into sticks. It is said they were called hushpuppies because eating such lowly food was not something a southern wife would want known to her neighbors.


Photo: Courtesy UGA Food Science Department
So Jim he got out some corn-dodgers and buttermilk, and pork and cabbage and
greens - there ain't nothing in the world
so good when it's cooked right . . .

Mark Twain, from his novel
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1885.


This recipe is from my friend Andra Cook of Raleigh, North Carolina. Andra says, "My mother-in-law, Belle Cook, would make these hushpuppies, cooking them in an iron pot over an open fire at the Neuse River in North Carolina. They were delicious with fresh fish, cole slaw, french fries, and a big dose of fresh air. They never tasted so good!"


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4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
1 cup water

In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil to 350° F or until a small amount of batter dropped into the hot oil sizzles and floats. Do not let the oil get too hot or the center of the hushpuppies will not cook thoroughly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, egg, salt, baking soda, milk, and water. Mix until batter is smooth and free of any lumps. Batter should be stiff (if batter is too dry, add milk; if batter is too thin, add cornmeal).

Using two spoons, push a small amount of batter into hot oil (370° to 380° F). After about 10 seconds, hushpuppies will float to the top and begin to brown. Fry for approximately 5 minutes or until golden brown, turning to brown all sides. Remove from oil and place hushpuppies on paper towels; continue cooking the remaining batter (fry in small batches, adding 4 to 6 hushpuppies to the oil at a time). NOTE: They can be held in a 200° F oven until serving time (approximately 30 minutes). Serve hot.

Makes 2 dozen hushpuppies.


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[AKLRULZ]

Omigosh you all haven't lived until you eat hushpuppies! Ya'll need to get to the south more often! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Stop by anytime! [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

[Dumbo]

I love hushpuppies. I could make a meal out of them.

Signed,

Bring on the hushpuppies.

[Janet 46]

I think I may have had them once at Red Lobster in Florida many, many years ago, and I think I liked them. I don't know of anyplace to get them here in the Northeast.

[BostonTeaParty]

Thanks for that recipe Donna. It looks yummy! Guess I do need to head south for an order of hush puppies and some of that famous hospitality.

[AKLRULZ]

Actually, for all ya'll who haven't tried them Red Lobster is probably a good place to try them out. They're a typical side dish with good ole fried seafood, but go along well with broiled, steamed or blackened seafood selections too!

Signed
Rhett

[DISNEYGOOF]

Wow Donna,

I never knew Hush Puppies had such history. I like them with ketchup, not into seafood.

[DisneyFamily4Life]

Being originally from the Pacific Northwest, it gives me great pleasure to read these thoughts of yours on hush puppies/corn dodgers. The diet of southerners is very different from the meat and potatos of other regions of the USA. I have lived in the south now for ten years and have learned to love those tasty little corn dodgers. They definitely are different every where you go although the ingrediants are still very basic. Pearl's in Savannah, Ga serves some of the best in the world. They actually bring them out before the meal with a nice honey butter to dip them in...yummy [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] BUt, if you want ot get down to buisness their ain't nothing like a low country boil or fish fry with som good homemade hushpuppies.
Brian