Southern fried fish & hush puppies

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Corn flour, stone ground
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon Cayenne or to taste
3 pounds Small cleaned fish or filet preferrably freshwater catfish or sunfish
1 large Egg
2 cups Buttermilk
1¾ cup Stone ground whole grain cornmeal
½ cup Minced onion
1 teaspoon Baking powder, scant
1 teaspoon Salt; scant
1 teaspoon Baking sda; scant

Directions

FOR THE FISH

FOR HUSH PUPPIES

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, pour oil to a depth of at least 1½ inches. and heat the oil at medium-high until the temperature reaches 375 degrees. Place wire racks on 2 baking sheets and set aside. In a wide bowl, mix the corn flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. In a medium-size bowl, prepare the hush puppies batter: Mix the egg and buttermilk well, then stir in the cornmeal until well blended, Add the onion, and stir in. Place the baking powder, salt and baking soda in a small separate container and set aside while you fry the fish. Dip each fish or fillet into the seasoned flour, coating well buyt shaking off excess. Carefully lower each piece into the oil. Fillt he pot, but do not crowd it. The oil should bubble up around each piece. Make sure temperature stays between 365 and 375 degrees. Fry the fish until it is golden all over, about 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Set aside the remaining corn flour. Remove the fish pieces from the oil in the same order they were immersed, using a wire mesh strainer allowing excess to drain.

When fish stops dripping; place it on one of the prepared baking sheets; then place in oven. Continue until all fish is fried. For the hush puppies: add the reserved baking powder, salt and baking soda to the hush puppy batter, and mix well; then, add the leftover seasoned corn flour to the batter a little at a time, until the batter is thick enough to be spooned. You will have added about ¼ to ½ cup of of the corn flour. Make sure the oil has returned to 375 degrees F; then, drop the batter by spoonfuls into the oil, using 2 teaspoons ~- 1 to scoop the batter and one to scrape it off and into the oil.

Fry the hush puppies until golden all over, about 3 minutes. Drain each pup well over the pot, and place on the second prepared sheet pan. Repeat process until all batter is fried.

Source: Miami Herald, 2/15/96 format by Lisa Crawford, 7/7/96

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