Crab Hush Puppies

You can't beat Paula Deen for the best southern recipes. 

Hush puppies are one of my favorite things to go with seafood . . . I love them plain, but have never tried anything like this before . . . and I can't wait to try them with the addition of crab meat.  These would make great appetizers. 

She made these awesome crab hush puppies on a recent episode of Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network . . . I had to look it up and share it.

My variation . . . add some kind of hot pepper!

Ingredients

• Oil, for frying
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon minced thyme
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup very fine bacon crumbles
• 1 pound fresh picked blue crabmeat

Directions

In a Dutch oven, heat oil to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, thyme, baking powder, salt, garlic pepper, baking soda and cayenne pepper.

In a small bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, and sour cream. Add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in onions, bacon, and crabmeat.

Dip spoon into water and then a spoonful of the hushpuppy mixture. This will allow mixture to easily fall off the spoon. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil, and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Hot and Spicy Hush Puppies

Recipe courtesy The Neelys . . . The Food Network

Show: Down Home with the Neelys

Episode: Loungin' and Lunchin'

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 small sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Cheddar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Orange dipping sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat deep fryer to 375 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients together into a large mixing bowl to form a thick batter.

Dip 2 tablespoon spoons into water. Using the spoons scoop up some of the batter and drop into the hot oil. Work in batches. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel lined sheet tray. Serve with dipping sauce.

Gina's Orange Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade

Mix the above ingredients together.

Hush Puppies

This recipe comes from the Food Network website . . . from an episode of Emeril's show that I saw the other night and now I'm not going to be happy until I make some fried fish with these hush puppies.

Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Essence
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 large onion, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

Preheat a deep-fryer fill with oil to about 3/4 of the way full to a temperature of 375 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, Essence, baking powder, baking soda and black pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, grated onion, green onions and jalapenos. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until a batter comes together. Be careful not to overmix.

When the oil is hot, drop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and let rest on a paper lined plate briefly before serving hot. Repeat with remaining batter.

Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen hush puppies