HHeritage Kitchen

Breads

Hushpuppies

Seasoned cornmeal batter with grated onion, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil and fried until crisp and golden. Small, savory and best eaten standing near the stove.

Jump to Recipe
Golden fried hushpuppies in a napkin-lined basket with one broken open

Prep time

15 min

Cook time

15 min

Total time

30 min

Servings

6 · About 20 hushpuppies

Origin Story

Hushpuppies have been part of Southern cooking for generations, most often alongside fried fish. At fish fries, church grounds and lakeside gatherings, they came out of the same pot of oil as the catfish and went straight into a basket on the table. Stories about how they got their name are told in a dozen versions and none of them is settled history — what is certain is where they've been served and who has been gathered around them.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, grated or finely minced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  1. 1

    Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper together in a bowl.

  2. 2

    Stir in the grated onion.

  3. 3

    Add the beaten egg and 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and stir just until combined. The batter should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon; add a splash more buttermilk if it's stiff.

  4. 4

    Let the batter rest 10 minutes while the oil heats.

  5. 5

    Pour 2 to 3 inches of oil into a heavy pot and heat to 350–365°F.

  6. 6

    Drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the oil, frying 5 or 6 at a time without crowding.

  7. 7

    Fry 2–3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden all over.

  8. 8

    Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack. Season with a little salt and serve hot.

Heritage Kitchen Tips

  • Grate the onion rather than chopping it — the juice goes into the batter and the pieces stay small enough to cook through.
  • Fry one test hushpuppy first and break it open to check the middle before committing the whole batch.

Kitchen Note

Oil temperature is everything. Hold it at 350–365°F: too cool and the hushpuppies drink oil and turn heavy, too hot and the outside darkens before the middle cooks. Fry in small batches so the temperature doesn't crash, and drain them on a rack rather than stacked on paper.

Variations

  • Add a little minced jalapeño or a handful of corn kernels to the batter.

Storage and reheating

Best the day they're fried. Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days and re-crisp in a 375°F oven for 6–8 minutes.

Safety note

Keep a lid nearby and never leave hot oil unattended. Lower the batter in gently to avoid splashing.

Round out the meal

Complete the meal

Helpful kitchen tool

Recipe Scaling Calculator

Doubling for a crowd or halving for two? Scale any recipe ingredient by ingredient in seconds.

Open calculator

Related guide

How Much Food Do I Need for 20 People?

A practical starting point for portions, sides and meat when you are cooking for twenty.

Read the guide

Related recipes