Southern Hush Puppies
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Southern Hush Puppies are little fried cornmeal fritters with onion through them, shatteringly crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. They take about 3 minutes in the oil and they’re best about 4 minutes after that. This is the plain, classic version, and it’s the one worth learning.
The Best Thing To Come Out Of A Pot Of Hot Oil
There’s a short window, maybe 5 minutes, when a hush puppy is perfect. Still hot enough to be slightly dangerous, crisp all the way around, soft and steamy inside. Nobody has ever managed to get these to the table without one going missing on the way.
They’re also genuinely easy. Cornmeal, flour, baking powder, an onion, buttermilk, an egg. You stir it together in a bowl, scoop it into hot oil, and 3 minutes later you’re done. No mixer, no rolling, no resting for an hour.
The only thing standing between you and good hush puppies is oil temperature, and I’ll walk you through that below because it’s the one thing that goes wrong.
What Are Hush Puppies (And Yes, There Are Also Shoes)
A hush puppy is a small ball of seasoned cornmeal batter, deep fried until golden. They come from the American South, they’re traditionally served alongside fried fish, and they turn up at every fish fry and seafood shack from Virginia down.
They are also, confusingly, a brand of very comfortable shoes. If you landed here looking for footwear, I’m sorry, this is going to be a disappointing page for you. Stay for the fritters.
The name supposedly comes from cooks throwing scraps of fried batter to barking dogs to quiet them down. Nobody can prove it and food historians have been rolling their eyes at it for decades, but it’s a better story than most, so it persists.
The Sugar Argument
Ask 10 southerners whether hush puppies should have sugar in them and you’ll start a fight.
The traditional answer is no. Hush puppies are a savory thing that goes next to fish, and sweetness has no business there. That’s the camp I’m in, which is why you won’t find any in the ingredient list.
The other camp points at every restaurant hush puppy they’ve ever eaten, most of which have a tablespoon or 2 of sugar in the batter, and they’re not wrong about that either. Long John Silver’s style hush puppies are noticeably sweet and a lot of people grew up on those.
If that’s the version you’re after, add 2 tablespoons of sugar with the dry ingredients and leave the onion out. Both versions are legitimate. Only one of them is correct, but I’m not going to be unpleasant about it.
Ingredients in Hush Puppies
- Yellow cornmeal (1 cup): The backbone. Yellow rather than white for color and a slightly sweeter corn flavor. Medium grind if you have a choice.
- All purpose flour (½ cup): Keeps them from being too dense and crumbly. Pure cornmeal hush puppies fall apart.
- Baking powder (1½ teaspoons): This is what makes them puff instead of turning into cornmeal rocks. Check that yours is still alive.
- Salt (½ teaspoon): Modest, because they’re getting eaten alongside something salty.
- Cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon): Not enough to register as heat. Just enough that something’s happening back there.
- Onion (1 small, finely chopped): Finely is the important word. Big pieces steam inside the batter and leave hollow spots. Grate it if you’d rather.
- Buttermilk (½ cup): The tang plays against the corn, and the acid reacts with the baking powder for extra lift.
- Egg (1 large): Binds it all together.
- Vegetable oil (1 quart, for frying): Anything neutral with a high smoke point. Vegetable, canola or peanut.
How To Make Southern Hush Puppies
Heat the oil: Pour the oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and bring it to 375°F. Use a thermometer. Guessing at oil temperature is how this goes wrong, and it’s the only fussy part of the whole recipe.
Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the 1 cup cornmeal, ½ cup flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon cayenne.
Add the wet: Stir in the finely chopped onion, ½ cup buttermilk and 1 egg. Mix until it just comes together. It should be a thick batter that holds its shape on a spoon, not a pourable one.
Fry them: Drop rounded tablespoons of batter carefully into the oil, a few at a time. Don’t crowd the pot. They’ll fry 3 to 4 minutes, turning themselves over partway through once the bottom sets, until they’re deep golden all over.
Drain and repeat: Lift them out onto a paper towel lined plate. Let the oil come back up to 375°F before the next batch goes in, and keep going until the batter’s gone.
Eat them immediately: This is not me being dramatic. A hush puppy at minute 3 and a hush puppy at minute 20 are different foods.
The Only Thing That Goes Wrong Is The Oil
Nearly every bad hush puppy comes down to temperature, and it goes wrong in 2 directions.
Too cool and they drink oil. They come out heavy and greasy with a pale, soft outside. This usually happens on batch 2, because a batch of cold batter drops the oil temperature hard and most people don’t wait for it to recover.
Too hot and the outside browns before the middle cooks. You get a beautiful golden fritter with raw batter in the center, which you discover at the table.
375°F, checked between every batch, solves both. A clip on thermometer that lives on the side of the pot is about 12 dollars and it makes this recipe foolproof.
If you want to test before committing, drop in a teaspoon of batter first. It should sizzle immediately, float within a few seconds, and go golden in about 3 minutes. Too fast means turn it down.
Tips
- Chop the onion finely. Any big pieces will steam inside the batter and leave gaps.
- Don’t overmix. Stir until it just comes together. Overmixing makes them tough and dense.
- The batter can sit while the oil heats. The cornmeal absorbs a little liquid and thickens up, which helps them hold their shape.
- Use 2 spoons. Scoop with one, push it off with the other. Far easier than trying to persuade sticky batter off a single spoon. Or use a small cookie scoop if you have one.
- A few at a time. 5 or 6 in a big pot. Crowding drops the temperature and they end up greasy.
- Salt them the second they come out, while the surface is still hot enough to grab it.
Variations
- Jalapeño hush puppies: Add 1 finely diced jalapeño, seeds out unless you want real heat, along with the onion. This is the variation I’d make if I were making 2 batches.
- Cheddar and jalapeño: Add ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar with the jalapeño. They brown faster with cheese in them, so watch the color.
- Long John Silver’s style: Sweeter and no onion. Add 2 tablespoons sugar with the dry ingredients and leave the onion out. A direction to take them rather than the way I make them.
- Air fryer: They can be done at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes, sprayed with oil and turned halfway. Being straight with you, they’re a different thing. Good, but softer and less crisp, because a hush puppy is a fried food and the frying is most of the point. Flagging this as untested in my kitchen.
- Corn: ½ cup of drained corn kernels folded in at the end adds pockets of sweetness.
What To Serve With Hush Puppies
Fried fish, first and always. Catfish, cod, whatever’s good. That’s the pairing they were invented for.
Beyond that: fried shrimp, a pot of chili, barbecue of any kind, coleslaw, collard greens. Anywhere a cornbread would go, a hush puppy goes too and has more fun doing it.
For dipping, remoulade, tartar sauce, honey butter, or plain hot sauce.
Storage and Reheating
They’re best in the first 10 minutes and they know it. But leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Reheat them in a 400°F oven or air fryer for 5 minutes. They come back crisp, genuinely. What you must not do is microwave them, which turns a crunchy fritter into a warm damp sponge.
To freeze, cool them completely, freeze on a tray until solid, then bag them. They’ll keep 2 months and reheat from frozen at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
Try These Recipes Next
- Easy Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
- Smothered Pork Chops
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
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Southern Hush Puppies
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 quart vegetable oil (for frying)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 2 inches and heat to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 cup cornmeal, ½ cup flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Stir in the finely chopped onion, ½ cup buttermilk and 1 egg, mixing just until combined. The batter should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the hot oil, a few at a time without crowding the pot. Fry 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden brown all over.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate and season with salt while hot. Let the oil return to 375°F before frying the next batch.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Oil temperature is the whole recipe. Too cool and they absorb oil and turn greasy. Too hot and the outside browns before the middle cooks. Check it between every batch.
- Chop the onion finely. Large pieces steam inside the batter and leave hollow spots.
- Don’t overmix. Stir until just combined or they’ll be tough.
- Fry only 5 or 6 at a time. Crowding drops the oil temperature.
- For jalapeño hush puppies, add 1 finely diced jalapeño with the onion.
- For a sweeter, restaurant style version, add 2 tablespoons sugar with the dry ingredients and leave out the onion.
- Reheat in a 400°F oven or air fryer for 5 minutes. Do not microwave them.
- Freeze cooled hush puppies on a tray, then bag. Reheat from frozen at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my hush puppies greasy?
The oil wasn’t hot enough. Check it’s at 375°F and let it come back up between batches.
Why is the middle still raw?
The oil was too hot. The outside browned before the inside had a chance. Turn it down and give them the full 3 to 4 minutes.
Can I make the batter ahead?
A couple of hours in the fridge is fine. Much longer and the baking powder loses its fizz and they won’t puff.
Do hush puppies have sugar in them?
Traditionally no. Restaurant versions usually do. Mine don’t, but add 2 tablespoons if you grew up on the sweet ones.
Can I bake them instead?
You can, but they won’t be hush puppies. Without the oil you don’t get the crust, which is the entire appeal.
What kind of cornmeal?
Yellow, medium grind. Fine grind gives a smoother, more cake like inside. Coarse gets gritty.
