Food

In the South, hush puppies must be on the menu if you are serving fried catfish. Some people just seem to have a special talent for making light textured hush puppies but I must admit that I have had problems with making this Southern specialty.

I realized that my hush puppy making needed help when I was asked to make the hush puppies at a youth-sponsored fish fry at our church. I mixed the batter the way I thought it should be and the hush puppies looked good when they were fried. They even tasted OK, but the texture was much too dense.

I don't like dense hush puppies. My friend Mauna used to laugh when we were served this type, because she said that I always left naked hush puppies on my plate. In other words, I just ate the outside.

I really wanted to learn to make hush puppies more like the ones that I enjoy at a favorite catfish restaurant. They are light on the inside but crispy on the outside. They are so good that I can make a meal of just these tasty treats and a bowl of coleslaw.

While experimenting with this idea, I found that the problem I have been having is that the batter is too thick so I added more liquid to the new batch.

After making a few other minor changes, I decided it was time to try my new recipe. With that first bite, I knew that I had achieved the texture that I wanted. My new hush puppies are still not quite as flavorful as those served at the restaurant but they are certainly a good substitute.

Although they are most often served with fish, hush puppies are great served instead of cornbread with vegetables or soup. When a friend and I were eating at a roadside restaurant in the Smokies, I was surprised that they served hush puppies with the pulled pork barbecue that I ordered. Good choice, but I never would have thought of this combination.

How about a bowl of coleslaw to enjoy with the hush puppies? This can be as simple as shredded or chopped cabbage, shredded carrots, onions (optional) and a good dressing. Of course, you can shred your own cabbage or just pick up a bag of the slaw mix at your supermarket. However, I have found that most of the mix is shredded too coarsely, so I sometimes give it a whirl in the food processor for just a second or two. For the dressing, I especially like the following recipe. This makes about a quart of dressing so you might want to cut the recipe in half.

Hush Puppies
Makes about 50 small hush puppies

Oil for deep frying
1 1/2 cups self-rising corn meal mix
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup whole kernel corn, drained
1 to 2 teaspoons Emeril's Original Essence
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and mix well. When oil has reached the 375 degrees, drop the hush puppy batter from a teaspoon into oil. Do not overcrowd the fryer. Cook until golden brown and crispy. Drain well on paper towels.

Coleslaw Dressing

2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon lime (or lemon) juice
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 teaspoon poppy seed
1 teaspoon celery seed

Combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Whisk until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate.