Paula Dean is a famous and worldwide-known American chef. She is famous for her quick and easy recipes that anyone can cook at home. One of her most famous and popular items is the crispy hush puppy, an excellent evening snack.
The Paula Dean hush puppy recipe is a perfect blend of buttermilk and cornmeal and later deep-fried until it turns golden brown. You can serve it as a side dish along with the main meal, but it goes best with the seafood.
Today, we will reveal the secrets of Paula Dean’s favorite hush puppy recipe that will surely be on your side dish list in the future. So, let’s begin the cooking process.
Paula Dean Hush Puppy Recipe
4-6
servings10
minutes15
minutes86
kcalHush puppies refer to cornmeal batter balls deep-fried in oil and served mainly with seafood for a perfect savory taste. You can serve this American cuisine with fried catfish or shrimp. Also, add sauces to get a flavorful experience.
Hush puppy’s recipe origin is unknown, but it has been one of the top American cuisines for several centuries now. Paula Dean has shown the easiest way to prepare and deep fry this item for the best delicacy.
If you want to cook your favorite hush puppies from scratch, follow our easy guidelines and procedures to avoid inconvenience.
Ingredients
4 cups cornmeal
3 cups buttermilk
1-½ cups flour
2-3 eggs
½ teaspoon of baking soda
Cooking oil
1/2 yellow onion (peeled and small diced)
1 teaspoon salt (Or according to taste)
- Tools
A mid-size bowl
A frying pan
Whisker or cooking whips
A cooking knife
How To Cook Paula Dean Hush Puppy
- Preheat the cooking pot
While preparing the other cooking ingredients, you should preheat the cooking pot. You can use a mid-sized cooking pot for this purpose. Heat the cooking pan at 350°F till you prepare the ingredients gradually. Also, ensure that the cooking pot is neat, clean, and free of water. Or else, when you pour in oil in it, it might outburst and burn your skin.
- Cut the onions
Now, cut and dice the onion into small pieces. You can use dicer to cut and dice the onions. Or else, you can do it using a cooking and cutting knife on top of the cutting board. Ensure that you have peeled and diced the onions properly. If the onions aren’t diced appropriately, they won’t be fried and give you a tangy feel while devouring the hush puppies.
- Take the cornmeal in a bowl
Now in a separate bowl, pour in the cornmeal. You may use approximately 700ml or 3 cups of cornmeal for this recipe. It should be enough to serve 4 to 6 persons perfectly. When you pour the cornmeal into the bowl, whisk it slightly to eliminate lumps.
- Add baking soda and salt
Now, add baking soda with the cornmeal. The carbon dioxide produced by the baking soda will make your fired hush puppies flappy and tender. Also, it helps retain the moisture so the deep-fried hush puppies won’t feel dry on your tongue. Also, add salt according to your taste.
- Add all-purpose flour
Finally, add the all-purpose flour with the mixture. 350mls of all-purpose flour or approximately 1-1/2 cups of flour will work fine. The all-purpose flour will give the perfect floppiness and the hard texture around the hush puppies when you deep fry them.
- Mix the baking cornmeal and flour
Now, whisk and mix the cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour neatly. You should whisk the mixture adequately to avoid any lumps inside it. The more you whisk, the better the hush puppies will be. It also ensures a smooth feel.
- Prepare the eggs
In a separate bowl, pour in two to three eggs. You don’t need to whisk or blend the eggs. The eggs will add a hardening texture and increase the fried item’s yumminess.
- Add buttermilk
Now, pour in the buttermilk in the bowl containing eggs. You will require whisking the buttermilk and eggs to blend them properly. The whisking is crucial for the perfect mixture.
- Mix all the ingredients
Now, add the whisked buttermilk and egg mixture with the all-purpose flour and cornmeal. Also, add the diced onions.Finally, blend the mixture as neatly as possible with the cooking whisk. It will form a rubbery and thickened structure.
- Fry and serve the hush puppies
When the mixture has blended perfectly, you can use a tablespoon to put the mixture in the preheated bowl. Ensure that you maintain enough distance so that the heated oil doesn’t burn your hand. Now, deep fry the hush puppies for 3 to 4 minutes or until it turns golden crispy. The hush puppies will come on top of the oil and float when fired properly. Finally, drain the fried hush puppies using a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Now, it’s ready to serve. You can serve it with sauces to your favorite seafood meal as a side dish.
Recipe Video
Notes
- It would help if you served the fried hush puppies as soon as they were fried. It will yield the best delicacy. If you want to store them, use an airtight container to store them in the refrigerator. Ideally, you can store the fried hush puppies for 3 to 5 days. For heating, preheat the oven at 350°C and heat the stored hush puppies for 2 to 3 minutes.
Conclusion
The crispy hush puppy from Paula Dean is an easy homemade recipe. It will be a standout side dish on your dinner table, and its crispy and crunchy feel, along with the buttery smoothness, will be a perfect savory for all. You can also serve it as a side dish for kids when they go to school. They will love it as a change of their main meal delightfully.