Since fried catfish and hush puppies are a sacred Southern culinary combination, it’s no surprise that The Catfish Institute in Belzoni, Mississippi, would have a recipe for perfect hush puppies. However, it’s worth noting that adding bell pepper to the batter would not be tolerated at fish fries or barbecues in Georgia and the Carolinas. Nonetheless, even the purists would have to admit that the addition of beer in this recipe results in some of the lightest hush puppies imaginable.
Makes about 1 1⁄2 dozen hush puppies
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup lager beer
- 1 large egg
- 1⁄4 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
- Peanut oil for deep frying
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir the ingredients until well blended. In another bowl, whisk together the beer, egg, onion, and bell pepper. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is well blended.
- In a large skillet or saucepan, heat about 3 inches of oil over moderate heat until a morsel of batter tossed in sputters. Drop rounded tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil and fry in batches until the hush puppies turn golden brown and crisp, which should take about 2 minutes on each side. Drain the hush puppies on paper towels and serve them piping hot.
