Photo by Will Sterling
Yields 4 SERVINGS
Ingredients
- Peanut or vegetable oil (enough to fill deep fryer or large pot 2 to 3 inches deep)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions (about 4 scallions)
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Directions
- Pour oil into a deep fryer or a large, heavy pot. Heat to 375 F.
- Combine egg, buttermilk, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, scallions, jalapeño pepper, and cheese in a large bowl, and mix well.
- Using an ice cream scoop, form balls of batter.
- Place 3 or 4 balls at a time into hot oil, and fry for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from grease, and place on paper towels to drain.
NOTE: Let the hush puppies get a rich, deep golden color before pulling them out of the oil. Also, if you have extra jalapeño peppers, slice them into rings, fry them in the same oil, and serve them alongside your hush puppies.
For more recipes, see Southern-Style Cooking.
Quad Webb is a reality show celebrity and a talk show host on “Sister Circle.” This article is excerpted with permission from her book Cooking with Miss Quad: Live, Laugh, Love, and Eat (The Country-man Press).