

In the meantime, traditional barbeque is slow-smoked pork or brisket, and you haven’t lived until you have tried it at least once. (No, there is no such thing as ‘too savory’)! They are a compliment to some smokey barbecue or any of the main show-stoppers at a fish fry.įor example, river fish like catfish and bass are the most common battered and deep-fried fish you would find at a classic Southern fish fry.

Generally, hush puppies will be also served with a dipping sauce or with cheesy grits. What are Hush Puppies Served With?Īcross the American South – or at any authentic Southern food joint – hush puppies are served as a side dish. The phrase was often used by British soldiers who would turn the blind-eye to smuggling operations at ports.Īdditionally, it was plastered on the covers of numerous 1920s newspapers to speak out about the corrupt bribing of the Harding’s administration’s Teapot Dome Scandal between 19, when officials accepted bribes from oil-companies. Starting as far back as the 18th century, to ‘hush puppy’ was to silence a person or to cover-up something in a covert manner. It is further worth noting that a hush puppy throughout history has meant much more than mighty good eating. It is chocked-full of nutrients and would often be seasoned with salt, pepper, and a handful of smoked meats to make a soup.Īs future Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi Homer Casteel stated at a 1915 rally: pot liquor was called “hush puppy” because it was effective in keeping the “houn’ dawgs from growling.” Pot liquor – also known by the traditional spelling, ‘potlikker’ – is the remaining liquid that is left over after boiling greens (collard, mustard, or turnip) or beans. Instead, gravy, or pot liquor, was the first to be called hush puppy. If, that is, a doughnut-hole is served with an array of spicy dipping sauces and alongside smokey barbeques and fish fries.Ĭontrarily, hush puppies were not originally golden rounds of fried up cornmeal. In a way, they are a bit like a savory doughnut-hole. They are made from a thick cornmeal batter and gently fried in hot oil until the outside becomes crunchy. Golden-brown, bite-sized, and doughy, a hush puppy is just one of a number of corn cakes with which the South has blessed the world.
#Hush puppu crack#
Luckily for us, there are a number of clues that have been sprinkled throughout America’s complex food history to help us crack the case. No one really knows the exact details about when a little ball of deep-fried cornmeal became such a sensation. Is it a soup base? Is it really because a dog wouldn’t shut up? Is it just slang for turning a blind-eye? On the other side of things, the hush puppies’ origin is surprisingly muddled. Maybe you know them best as ‘three finger bread’ or as ‘corn dodgers,’ but regardless of the name, the fried ball of cornmeal is a staple of Southern cuisine. A quintessential side to many Southern dishes, the hush puppy is easy to make and even easier to eat. I’m not sure if that 30¢ a can mix was any good, but this recipe definitely is.Hush Puppies: round, savory, deep-fried goodness. He created a ready-mix blend of cornmeal, flour, and seasoning, packaged it, and called it Thompson’s Fireside Hushpuppy Mix. Then, in 1948, an entrepreneur named Walter Thompson from the small coastal town of Swansboro, North Carolina, took hush puppies nationwide. Hush puppies were called “red horse bread,” in Florida, it was “wampus,” and “red devils” and “three finger bread” in Georgia.īy the 1940s, hush puppies were being served with fried fish and steamed oysters at seafood joints catering to beachgoers and tourists from the Carolina coast to Florida. Eventually “hush puppies” became the one that stuck. What we do know is that what we call hush puppies today had many different names over the years. Just in case you’re wondering where the name hush puppies comes from, there are lots of myths and not a lot we know for certain. I don’t recommend microwaving them, since they’re likely to get soggy. It doesn’t take long for them to warm up, and reheating them in the air fryer will keep them crispy.
