As someone who longs for and misses Eastern Carolina BBQ and the fine savory hushpuppies dipped in butter that come on the side, I was excited to try this recipe. The texture is almost perfect but the batter was too sweet and needed a bit more onion. We could not eat all of the hushpuppies and wound up freezing over half the batch. They reheated better than expected, but I would recommend doubling the onion and halving the batch.
Carolina Hush Puppies
In North Carolina, oblong-shaped hush puppies are served with your plate of 'cue. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2011 BBQ issue along with Dana Bowen's story East Vs. West.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
SERVES 8–10
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. kosher salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup melted butter
¼ tsp. hot sauce
1 medium yellow onion, minced
Canola oil, for frying
1. In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, hot sauce, onion, and ¼ cup water. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir together with a spoon; let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a ¾″-diameter round tip. Working in batches, pipe and cut 3″-long logs of batter into oil; fry until golden brown, 1–2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season with more salt.
