Southern Hush Puppies

Southern Hush Puppies are truly magical and delicious.

If you are looking for the perfect addition to your favorite seafood meal, such as Fish n Chips, Southern Fried Shrimp, or Fantastic Fried Fish Sandwich, you’ve come to the right place. And they come together in about 20 minutes!

HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN HUSH PUPPIES

This recipe for hush puppies with corn meal is the real deal.

Crunchy on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside. Just amazing.

Watch us show you how to make these amazing Southern Hush Puppies at home!

THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

We love using coarse (medium ground) yellow cornmeal for our hush puppies. This provides the amazing corn taste with a wonderful texture.

Granulated sugar provides just enough sweetness to make you keep going back form more of these little balls of deliciousness. For the wet ingredients, you can never go wrong with buttermilk, an egg, and a few dashes of hot sauce.

And the addition of finely chopped onions is key to authentic taste.

ADD THE WET MIXTURE INTO THE DRY MIXTURE

Once you’ve got the dry mixture and the wet mixture ready, it’s time to form the batter.

Pour the wet into the dry, and gently mix. Next is the beer (see below).

EXPERT TIP: Don’t over mix the batter! Don’t worry if the batter is a little lumpy. This is good! It will make the texture of the Southern Hush Puppies exactly the way you want them! Fluffy and moist on the inside!

We absolutely love the addition of beer into the batter.

The alcohol cooks out, but the beer deepens the taste and makes the hush puppies extra crunchy on the exterior.

You’ll only need about a quarter cup of your favorite beer. We think you’ll know what to do with the leftover beer.

USE A THERMOMETER TO ENSURE CORRECT TEMPERATURE

We like to use our deep fryer when making Southern Hush Puppies, but you can certainly use a large, sturdy pot (i.e., Dutch oven) with enough oil to reach about 3 inches in depth.

If heating oil on the stove-top, we strongly encourage the use of a candy thermometer to maintain the correct temperature for frying, which for these babies is 350°F.

EXPERT TIP: Peanut oil is excellent for deep-frying because it can easily handle high heat. However, you can also use vegetable oil or shortening. Do NOT use olive oil.

Use a spoon to simply (and carefully) drop a small mound of batter into the hot oil.  Cook the puppies in batches until golden brown, about 7 to 8 minutes, flipping in the oil occasionally.

We are just crazy about Southern Hush Puppies. What would a down-home fish-fry be without them?

And of course, if you’re going to have hush puppies made from scratch, then you’ve got to have Homemade Tartar Sauce.

The two were made for each other!

SOUTHERN HUSH PUPPIES FAQs

• Can these be baked instead of fried? Absolutely! They will be more like corn bread, but still very delicious. Simply spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray, and then fill the cups about 2/3-full and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• What is the best cornmeal to use? We find yellow coarse (medium) produces the best texture and taste.
• What kind of oil is best for frying the hush puppies? Peanut oil is great. Vegetable oil or shortening will work. Canola will work, too. We do not recommend any fragrant oils, such as olive oil.
• How long will they stay fresh? Hush puppies are best when served soon after cooking. You can keep them warm in an oven, but the longer they sit, the less crunchy they will be on the outside and less fluffy on the inside.

Our hearts flutter for homemade Southern Hush Puppies!

Splitting one open while they are still warm is sublime.

Are you craving homemade hush puppies yet?

Ready to make the best seafood accompaniment in the world? Go for it!!

And when you make them, be sure to take a picture, post on Instagram, and tag @howtofeedaloon and #howtofeedaloon!

Southern Hush Puppies

These hush puppies are a Southern classic. Serve them with classic fish and chips with homemade tartar sauce, and maybe a few good dashes of malt vinegar...and are the super tasty!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy hush puppies, homemade hush puppies, Southern hush puppies corn meal

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Total Time: 31 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 253kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

Equipment

• Deep fryer, or large sturdy pot (i.e., Dutch oven)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup self-rising flour
• 1 ½ cup corn meal yellow ground, medium-coarse
• 1/4 cup sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ½ onion finely chopped
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ beer
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 3 dashes hot sauce
• Peanut oil or vegetable, for frying
• Tartar sauce for dipping
• lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions

• Heat the oil to 350°F.
• Mix the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Mix in the onions.
• In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg and hot sauce.
• Add the dry ingredients with the wet, and mix with a large wooden spoon. Don’t over mix! Its okay for there still to be some lumps.
• Mix enough beer until batter just comes together, about 1/4 cup.
• Use a spoon to scoop a small mound of batter, just large enough to cover the spoon.
• Drop the dough into the hot oil. Continue with more, but don't overcrowd. You will most likely fry in batch.
• Fry until golden brown on the outside…about 7 to 8 minutes (varies depending on the size of the puppies!). Use a metal slotted spoon, or spider, to remove the hush puppies to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Repeat process with remaining batter.
• Serve warm with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Video

Notes

Coarse (medium ground) yellow cornmeal is best, however, fine ground will work, too.

A deep fryer helps keep the oil temperature constant (350°F), but a large sturdy pot (i.e., Dutch oven) will work, too, with a candy thermometer.  You will need to adjust the heat on the stove once the batter goes into the oil, and then before the next batch goes in.

Peanut oil works best, but vegetable oil or shortening will work, too.  Do NOT use olive oil.

Hush puppies are best served soon after frying.

You can bake these instead of frying (see FAQs), but they will be more similar to baked cornbread. 

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe? Take a Picture!Mention @HowToFeedALoon or tag #HowToFeedALoon!

POST UPDATE: The recipe was originally published in April, 2014, but was updated with improvements to the recipe, new photography and fabulous new video in September, 2019.