Eastern Carolina Golden Hush Puppies
Chapter 3 — The Sides
There is no proper whole-hog pulled pork without a puddle of vinegar sauce, and there is no barbecue platter in the eastern half of North Carolina without a basket of golden, onion-laced hush puppies. These aren't the cakey, spherical sinkers dropped beside coastal fried flounder. Old-school stick-burner joints of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain pipe their batter into rugged, elongated logs. It’s an exercise in structural integrity, maximizing the crispy surface area so the crunch holds up even when dragged through peppery pot likker. Fry them outside on your kettle grill while your pork shoulder rests in its cooler.
Before you start
Render the bacon fat.
If you don't keep a jar of bacon grease on the counter like a proper Southerner, slowly cook down a few strips of bacon in a skillet until they yield two tablespoons of liquid gold.
Ingredients
- yellow cornmeal1 1/2 cup
- all-purpose flour3/4 cup
- granulated sugar1 tbsp
- baking powder1 1/2 tsp
- baking soda1/2 tsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- cayenne pepper1/4 tsp
- whole buttermilk1 cup
- egg1 large
- rendered bacon fat2 tbsp
- sweet yellow onion1/2 cup
- peanut oil2 qt
Method
- 01
Fire up the fry station.
If frying outdoors to keep the house clean, stoke the leftover coals in your kettle grill and set a heavy cast-iron Dutch oven directly on the grates; otherwise, use a heavy pot on the stove. Bring two quarts of peanut oil to 350°F.
- 02
Whisk the dry matrix.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cayenne.
- 03
Combine the wet ingredients.
In a separate smaller bowl, mix the buttermilk, beaten egg, melted bacon fat, and minced onion.
- 04
Hydrate and rest the batter.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry, folding with a wooden spoon just until the dry spots disappear. Do not overmix. Walk away and let the lumpy batter rest undisturbed for 10 minutes so the cornmeal hydrates and the leavening activates.
- 05
Pipe the logs.
Transfer the thick batter into a heavy-duty zip-top bag and snip off a bottom corner to create a ¾-inch wide hole. Working in batches of six to eight, pipe two-inch strips of batter directly into the shimmering oil, using your thumb or a butter knife to cut the stream.
- 06
Fry to a golden crunch.
Fry for 3 to 4 minutes total, using a spider skimmer to gently flip them halfway through, until deep golden brown.
- 07
Drain and serve hot.
Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels to drain, and serve immediately while they are still steaming inside.
Notes
Mind the temperature.
If your first batch is too dark on the outside but doughy inside, your oil is too hot. Drop the heat closer to 340°F and fry for a minute longer.
Save the leftovers.
These freeze remarkably well. Freeze cooked hush puppies flat on a baking sheet, bag them up, and restore their crunch by throwing them into a 375°F oven for 5 to 8 minutes.
From Cook BBQ at Home.