Southern seafood and fish lovers pig out on their corn meal filled Hush Puppies. So does this Southwestern Montanan. This fried side dish is great plain or dipped into a sauce. There are also many ways to make Hush Puppies a bit better.

Try adding some fish or seafood into the mix. A little goes a long way but any white filleted fish, shrimp, or crab will do. You can also air fry the Hush Puppies if you want to avoid the oil. Blending the real deal seafood with fish makes an impressive dish with an impressive price tag.

Fish fry’s always need a side something. Back in the day, I had a boatload of Bluefish filets. The bite was on, and we filled the cooler. You can only eat so many fish, so we had to get creative. Maryland is the Crab Cake capital, so let’s make crabcakes, but use Bluefish filets. We poached and flaked the filets, then added some Old Bay seasoning to the mix. Now we pretended that the fish was crab and made several recipes. Crab Cakes were first. Then we made Crab Imperial, and crab hush puppies using the Bluefish meat. Had we used real crab meat, the cost would have been huge. Instead, everyone was impressed and had no clue that they were eating Bluefish.

Here’s a great Hush Puppy recipe made using fish.

4 cups of Canola or peanut oil

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup flour

2 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

1-2 tbsp of your favorite hot sauce

1 tbsp of Old Bay/ or a seafood seasoning

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups milk

1 pound of flaked fish or…

5 green spring onions thinly sliced.

2 tbsp of butter

Tartar sauce for serving.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Poach the skinless fish filets in hot water. Add a bit of salt and parsley. Once the meat turns white, drain and dry on a towel. Now flake the meat with a fork.

While the oil is heating, stir together the corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar, Old Bay, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk up the eggs, hot sauce, and milk. Add the poached, flaked fish and blend all together.

Over medium heat, sauté the green onions in butter until soft. Now add them to the batter.

Now use a large spoon or cookie ball tool to make golf ball sized puppy balls. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. This takes 2-3 minutes. Transfer onto paper towels to dry. Now place them into a baking dish that can fit into the oven. Since you are making them in batches, the oven will keep them warm.

If the balls come apart when frying, add a bit more flour.

Tartar sauce works well as a dipping sauce. Homemade is always fresh and best. A ketchup/ horseradish seafood sauce is also a good choice.

Puppies are best served warm. Put them into the middle of a crowd and watch them disappear. I have also used small red plastic shot cups to make Hush puppy shots. Add some sauce to the bottom and Cheers!

Hush Puppy Love!!!

Montana Grant