Hush Puppies

I have always loved hush puppies, but until I made these mahi nuggets, I had never considered making them myself. But, when trying to think of sides to serve, a friend suggested hush puppies, and I thought, that's a great idea! I set out to find a recipe, and found many of them, varying in ingredients and preparation. I decided that for my first attempt I should try one of the more simple recipes. The recipe itself had some glitches. I think possibly a misprint, but it called for 1 tablespoon of salt. I thought this sound like a lot, but having never made them before I followed the recipe exactly. Yikes. definitely too much!! The puppies turned out great once the oil got hot enough, but they were definitely too salty for me. I adjusted the recipe below to use only 1 teaspoon of salt, as I am sure that is what the recipe meant to say :)

Hush Puppies
Adapted from: Cooks.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup cornmeal either color
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
• 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teas cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch of finely chopped dill
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
• canola or vegetable oil, enough to submerge and fry hush puppies

    Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients except water together in a medium bowl. 
2. Add water to mixture until a bit thinner than desired, let stand for 20 minutes to allow onion flakes to reconstitute. Mixture wills thicken.
3. Put enough oil in a pot to be able to submerge the batter and fry. Heat over HIGH heat and allow to get very hot.
4. Spoon batter into hot oil and allow to cook until they float and are a golden brown, 2-3 minutes. For a more crunchy effect cook until dark brown. 

*Note* If your oil is not hot enough the batter will spread out and will not crisp up. Make sure the oil is HOT!