Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread
These dressed up hush puppies are craggy, crispy, deep fried corn bread balls stuffed with creamy, spicy pepper jack, salty minced ham and two kinds of onions. Eat them as a stand alone snack or appetizer, or serve alongside fish dinners, soups, salads or chilis.
Ingredients
- 2 inches of canola peanut or vegetable oil, or lard in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet (or an electric deep fryer)
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/4-1/2 cup finely minced or chopped fully cooked ham
- 1/4 cup finely minced or chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup finely minced or chopped sweet onion
- 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Place the oil-filled pot over medium high heat and bring the oil to 375°F. Line a bowl or baking pan with paper towels and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, black and cayenne pepper with a whisk. In a separate bowl, use the same whisk to thoroughly combine the butter, yogurt or buttermilk and egg. Pour that directly into the flour mixture, add all of the mix-ins, and use a spatula to stir everything together gently, just until no more dry pockets remain and it is combined evenly.
- Use a 1 1/2 teaspoon scoop (or simply mound the batter on a teaspoon) to drop the batter into the hot oil. Fry only as many as can comfortably fit into the pan while leaving room for them to move around. Don't overcrowd that pan! Fry the hush puppies for 2-3 minutes per batch, flipping them about halfway through the cooking. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the finished hush puppies to the paper towel lined bowl or pan and let drain briefly before serving.
- These are best when served hot, but are still great warm or room temperature. You can store leftover hush puppies in a paper towel lined, tightly covered container in the refrigerator and reheat them for just a few minutes in a hot oven to re-crisp them.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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