Hush Puppies

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 box jiffy cornbread mix
• 1/2 cup grated onion (1 medium or 1/2 large)
• 5 tablespoons buttermilk or 2 tablespoons skim milk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 slices bread, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons grated green bell peppers (optional)

Recipe

• 1 mix all ingredients together just until they are wet.
• 2 refrigerate 30 minutes to 5 hours.
• 3 to cook, heat oil to about 350-375 degrees.
• 4 dip a small spoon in cold water, then get a spoonful of batter, using the side of the bowl to"break-off" the spoonful of batter from the bowl.
• 5 immediately submerge spoon in the hot oil for a few seconds until the hush puppy releases from the spoon.
• 6 repeat this process with each hush puppy, until you have 6 or 7 in the hot oil.
• 7 do not crowd the"puppies", as you do not want to lower the temperature of the hot oil.
• 8 getting the spoon wet between puppies is important, as it helps keep the batter from sticking to the spoon.
• 9 if your oil is the correct temperature, the hush puppies should be golden on the outside and cooked on the inside.
• 10 when golden on one side, if they automatically turn themselves over, you're cooking like a pro.
• 11 if they don't give them a little nudge to make them turn over.
• 12 possible problems: if oil is too hot, or"raw puppies are too large", they will get too browned on the outside and be gummy or runny on the inside.
• 13 if oil is not hot enough, the puppies will be greasy.
• 14 i usually put 1 or 2 spoonsful of batter in the hot oil to test it before making a whole batch of these tasty little southern treats.
• 15 adjust oil temperature as needed.
• 16 although not quite as good as when freshly cooked, i often freeze leftover hush puppies and reheat them in a toaster oven until warm.
• 17 they are still mighty good.