I’ve been cooking and craving Southern food from the Carolinas. Among my favorite things are those delicious cornmeal fritters known as hushpuppies. You can find hushpuppies in every diner worth its salt – the appy is served right from the fryer, into the paper-lined basket. You see them at every church fish fry, and on every barbecue buffet. No longer just a southern thing, you can find some version of hushpuppies on fast food menus across the country and around the world.

The lore behind the name has variations of the same tale. Confederate soldiers, Southern mamas and even nuns were said to use a deep-fried concoction of cornmeal, egg and seasonings to throw to the barking dogs to quiet them down. But, if we look back through America’s early written history, we can find references to fried cornbread that predates these stories.

Southerners have been eating fried cornmeal for a long time. Early writings refer to Red Horse Bread which was famously made by a well-known South Carolina fisherman. He served fried fish with all the fixins from his shack along the river; not only to locals but to prominent gentlemen and politicians from far and wide. An early newspaper columnist wrote, that Red Horse Bread was made by “simply mixing cornmeal with water, salt, and egg, and dropped by spoonful’s in the hot lard in which fish have been fried”. As it turns out Red Horse also refers to the type of fish caught and then fried.

How Red Horse Bread evolved to hushpuppies, is still a question for historians, but one theory is that these tasty cornbread fritters are used to hush the dogs howling in your your grumbling tummy.

This is my own version of that South Carolina fisherman’s special recipe. The great thing about it, is – you don’t have to follow it precisely to get a tasty result. Be as creative as you want with add-ins and sauces. I only ask one thing…. Please don’t feed them to the dogs!

Hush Puppies

With Spicy Remoulade sauce

serves a crowd

30 minute cuisine

These fritters are rich and doubly corn-full! They are really easy to prepare and a great appy for your Southern barbecue!

For Hushpuppies:

2 cups Hushpuppy Mix (like House-Autry brand)

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and chopped

¾ cup prepared chunky salsa

4 green onions finely diced

1 teaspoon creole seasoning

For Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

2 tablespoons chili sauce

Juice of ½ lemon, about 2 to 3 tablespoons

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (like Frank’s)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 green onions, finely diced, about 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat vegetable oil in a fryer or deep pot to 350°. You need only enough oil to fill about 3 inches of your pot or pan. Stir together the hushpuppy mix, eggs, corn, salsa and creole seasoning. Allow the batter to rest for 3 to 5 minutes and then stir it again. Carefully drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil. (Do this in batches, so that you don’t overcrowd the pan.) Use a wire basket to gently turn the hushpuppies in the oil so that they are golden brown on all sides, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Stir the ingredients together to make the sauce. Serve warm hushpuppies with the sauce on the side!