It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Fritter Friday! Recently I made some basic cornmeal fritters, aka hushpuppies, to go along with our shredded chicken chili for dinner. We hadn’t had some good ole hushpuppies in forever. As easy as they are to throw together, I’m not sure why we don’t make them more often.
They’re basically a measure stuff into a bowl, stir, then drop into hot oil deal. Drain on paper toweling and eat when slightly cooled. Sometimes I add chopped green onions or chives. The recipe I found had other suggestions that I’ve not tried but sound good. I wouldn’t have thought to add shredded cheese, so I want to try that next time. We were already adding lots of shredded cheese and garnishes to our chicken chili so I kept the hushpuppies simple this time.
I measured all of the ingredients minus the corn and oil into a bowl and mixed well. The consistency was great, I didn’t need more than the 3/4 cup milk in the recipe.
I drained a can of corn and stirred it into the batter.
I was also lazy and didn’t want to climb up and fetch down my deep fryer from the top of the pantry shelves. I used a medium saucepan on the stove on medium heat instead. You have to be more careful with the hot oil this way, but it’s a faster cleanup too.
The original recipe calls for using a skillet with a little oil and they’re fried more like thick pancakes. You could change it back to the original recipe if you want a different shape. I wanted the round, more familiar hushpuppy shape.
The hushpuppies were excellent served with a little honey drizzled over them, or simply dipped in the chili. I liked having the kernel corn in the fritters along with the cornmeal for that double deliciousness.
I had the idea of using corn roasted on the grill then cut off the cob. Now that grilling season has finally arrived up North I might try that next time.
Double Corn Hushpuppy/Fritters
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sweet corn, drained
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
oil for frying
Optional ingredients: finely chopped scallions, parsley, chives, cilantro, chillies, red peppers, shredded cheese, herbs, spices
Measure all ingredients except oil into a bowl and mix well. Add more milk as needed.
In a medium saucepan or a deep fryer, heat oil over medium heat. Working in batches, drop a small cookie scoop worth of batter into the oil, making 3-4 at a time. Fry the fritters for 2 or 3 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towel and serve warm.
Depending on their size, this makes about 24 fritters.
Adapted from The Daring Kitchen.