Fritos and Ham Fritters

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Fritter Friday! It’s time to re-fritter ourselves and enjoy some deep fried fritter goodness. Several months ago my sister Linda and I made Fritos Fritters. They were so good they stuck in my mind and I wanted to revisit the recipe. I had some ham I thought would be great diced up in them so I brought the deep fryer out for a fritter treat night.

I diced up about 2 cups of diced ham and put it into a large Tupperware measuring pitcher I use for pancakes and fritters.

Finely dice ham

I drained a can of whole kernel corn and added it to the pitcher.

Drain the can of corn and add to the bowl

When I measured the cornmeal, flour and cheddar and added them to the pitcher, I realized the recipe was maybe getting too large for my pitcher. Usually I’m a good guess at the size of container I’d need but this was looking like a fail. I wasn’t going to have enough room to stir it together without making a mess.

Measure the cornmeal, flour and shredded cheese and add to the bowl

I continued on and put Fritos into a zippered plastic bag and used my meat tenderizing mallet to crush them a bit. I didn’t want them reduced to crumbs, just smaller chunks. I poured them into a large bowl and added the contents of my pitcher and decided that was a better size container.

Crush the Fritos up a bit and add to the bowl

I measured in the baking powder, salt and black pepper, then the milk.

measure in the baking powder, salt and pepper, then pour in the milk

I stirred the ingredients well and was happy with the mix.

Stir until well mixed

I’d added oil to my deep fryer to the recommended line, and turned it on to preheat before I started mixing the batter. It was heated so I used a large cookie scoop and formed a ball and dropped it into the hot oil. I dropped in several more and let them fry until they were browned.

Scoop into balls with a large cookie scoop or a tablespoon and drop into the oil

My fryer has a little basket and I set it on some paper towelling while I sliced into one fritter to see how the insides had cooked. Perfect! They were moist but cooked so I had an idea of just how long to cook the rest of the batch. It’s always good to do a test run to see how hot your fryer is. You could also use a kettle with oil if you’re careful about not letting the oil get too hot and cause accidents.

Remove from fryer when they float and are browned

I’d preheated the oven to 300°F and had an ovenproof container lined with paper towelling to keep the fritters warm as I made the remaining batches. When they were all fried I made pork chops for dinner to serve with the fritters.

Keep warm on towelling in the oven until all fritters are fried

I also threw together our favorite honey mustard dipping sauce to add a little bite of acid flavor. We drizzled and dripped the fritters in the sauce and absolutely loved them. The corn and ham flavors were a great contrast to the sweet and spicy sauce. The fritters were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a deep-fried comfort food.

Serve with honey mustard dipping sauce

When I have something like steaks or pork chops for dinner and want a quick accompaniment, fritters are always a good bet. Usually I choose a veggie fritter of some kind but the Fritos fritters are a fun change. I’ve loved them twice now and will keep them on my list of quick foods when I have Fritos in the house. Which isn’t all that often because they don’t last long. Now you know my guilty pleasure.

Ham and Fritos Fritters

Ham and Fritos Fritters

2 cups diced ham
2 cups kernel corn; canned or frozen
1 cup sharp cheddar; shredded
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup Fritos
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

Honey Mustard Dip:

1/2 cup mayo
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons honey
pinch of paprika

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Fill deep fryer to recommended level and preheat.

Dice ham and add to large mixing bowl.

Measure dry ingredients and mix.  Pour in milk and stir until ingredients are evenly mixed.

Using a large cookie scoop, make round balls and drop a few at a time into the hot oil, cooking until they float and are browned on the outside.  Cut one in half to check your timing and fry the rest in batches based on the timing for your deep fryer.

Put the fritters into an ovenproof dish lined with paper toweling and keep in the oven until all fritters are done.

Stir together ingredients for the honey mustard sauce if desired, and serve with warm fritters.

Makes about 30 fritters.