# Hush puppies question



## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

Does anyone here make their own hush puppies?
I was wondering a couple things... I've got a recipe that says to drop them into the oil from the spoon, but the ones I have eaten in the past were uniform like meatballs. I was wondering if I can make the batter so that I can form them like a meatball? I would think that they would cook more uniformly if they were all the same size and placed into the oil, plus it would be less messy that trying to drop spoonfuls of the batter/dough into the oil. Which leads me to my next question; if I have a tray full of hush puppies, do I need to cook them all at the same time? Can I freeze some for later?

Do we have any hush puppies aficionados here?


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## Silversage (Nov 17, 2011)

Use a disher - or ice cream scoop.  Just scoop & drop straight into the oil.  You'll get nice evenly sized balls.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 17, 2011)

+1 and yes, you can freeze them!


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

My ice cream scoop is a heavy spoon 

I need to pick up some more peanut oil anyway. Maybe wally world will have a smallish ice cream scooper, or mellon baller. Good idea.

And great! I can freeze them for later.

Thanks for the info, ladies.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 17, 2011)

The beauty is, when they are frozen, you can fry them up easier.  They hold their shape better. Take a little longer...


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The beauty is, when they are frozen, you can fry them up easier. They hold their shape better. Take a little longer...


 
Interesting. You just put them in the oil frozen, huh? In that case I might as well make them ahead of time and freeze them all. Thanks.


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## jusnikki (Nov 17, 2011)

I usually just drop them by the spoonful into the oil and it puffs into the balls. 
You just have to make sure you have enough oil.


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

Thanks Nikki. I think I'm still going to pick up a scooper. I could have used one for something else a while ago, plus I think it would be quicker. Good to know the hush puppies are self-forming though. It tells me not to put so much thought into getting them perfectly round before they hit the oil.


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## jusnikki (Nov 17, 2011)

Scoopers are handy for so many different things.


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

Do the hush puppies balloon up?
If I only see a mellon baller and a large ice cream scoop, which should I buy?


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## Aunt Bea (Nov 17, 2011)

I would not buy a scoop unless it has a release like a traditional ice cream scoop.


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## Andy M. (Nov 17, 2011)

If it were me doing this, I'd try using a spoon or two to drop portions into the oil.  Then if that didn't work, I'd buy another tool.  But I'm lazy and cheap.


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

Yeah, but the time to be wanting the right tool for the job (or at least an easier to use tool) isn't when your oil is at 360F ;^)
But it does borderline on gadget if I only use it once or twice a year.


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## Andy M. (Nov 17, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Yeah, but the time to be wanting the right tool for the job (or at least an easier to use tool) isn't when your oil is at 360F ;^)
> But it does borderline on gadget if I only use it once or twice a year.




I figure folks who have been making hush puppies for the past couple of hundred years didn't have special tools.


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## mudbug (Nov 17, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> If it were me doing this, I'd try using a spoon or two to drop portions into the oil. Then if that didn't work, I'd buy another tool. But I'm lazy and cheap.


 
You may be cheap, but anyone who buys the whole dang turkey to cut it up for homemade stock ain't lazy, my friend.


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## Andy M. (Nov 17, 2011)

mudbug said:


> You may be cheap, but anyone who buys the whole dang turkey to cut it up for homemade stock ain't lazy, my friend.



I really am both.  Sometimes my cheapness is a stronger force than my laziness.  Especially when I feel like someone is trying to take advantage of me.


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> I figure folks who have been making hush puppies for the past couple of hundred years didn't have special tools.


 
They very well could have started their fire by rubbing two sticks together, too


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## Aunt Bea (Nov 17, 2011)

If you have a piping bag with a large tip you could use that to pipe them into the hot oil.

Sort of a squeeze and flick.


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## pacanis (Nov 17, 2011)

That's pretty interesting how you can get them into the oil so many different ways and they still come out like balls.
No piping bag wither, AB. I'll keep that method in mind though.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 18, 2011)

Aunt Bea said:


> If you have a piping bag with a large tip you could use that to pipe them into the hot oil.
> 
> Sort of a squeeze and flick.



I'm imagining hold the bag over the hot oil, dropping them in and the splash.

That's why I would freeze them first, less chance of burning yourself.


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## PattY1 (Nov 18, 2011)

I use two "table spoons" one to scoop it out of the bowl and the other to shape the batter and scoot it into the hot oil. They are not round, kind of tear drop shaped. I have had them shaped that way in some sea food joints.


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## Timothy (Nov 18, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> I figure folks who have been making hush puppies for the past couple of hundred years didn't have special tools.


 
I can account for the last 40 years! I use two teaspoons. one to fill, one to scrape it into the oil!

Fritters are a favorite in my house! I put everything except the kitchen sink into them!

Sausage and cheese fritters are the most favored of all my fritters at home! 

"Is it a fritter or a hush puppy?

The best answer I've ever heard was:

"The only difference I could figure is where you receive your mail. 
One man’s fritter is another man’s hush puppy"


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## Zhizara (Nov 18, 2011)

How do you make your fritters, Timothy?


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## Timothy (Nov 18, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> How do you make your fritters, Timothy?


 
No secret recipe here, Zhizara! I make regular cornbread mix with slightly less milk and then add cooled, cooked and crumbled spicy sausage and shredded cheese to the mix. Then just drop it by spoonfuls into hot oil until browned nicely.

I mix black pepper and butter together and serve it with the fritters.


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## Zhizara (Nov 18, 2011)

Timothy said:


> No secret recipe here, Zhizara! I make regular cornbread mix with slightly less milk and then add cooled, cooked and crumbled spicy sausage and shredded cheese to the mix. Then just drop it by spoonfuls into hot oil until browned nicely.
> 
> I mix black pepper and butter together and serve it with the fritters.



Thanks!!!  I've wanted to make fritters for a long time, since Mrs. Paul's corn fritters were available in the freezer section many, many years ago.  They were soooo good, but they stopped making them.  

It's nice to know of an easy way to make hush puppies too.  A neighbor lady used to make them with tiny bits of onion when I was a kid.  They were really good.

I always have some Jiffy cornbread mix on hand.


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## Timothy (Nov 18, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> Thanks!!! I've wanted to make fritters for a long time, since Mrs. Paul's corn fritters were available in the freezer section many, many years ago. They were soooo good, but they stopped making them.
> 
> It's nice to know of an easy way to make hush puppies too. A neighbor lady used to make them with tiny bits of onion when I was a kid. They were really good.
> 
> I always have some Jiffy cornbread mix on hand.


 
Outstanding! Let me know how they turn out! I love fritters!


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## Zhizara (Nov 18, 2011)

I'll try the corn fritters.  I often make cornbread with creamed corn instead of milk (w 2 pkgs. of mix).  It sounds like that batter would work, maybe with extra regular kernel corn.

I'll let you know the results.


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