Cooks guard their recipes for Southern delicacy

gotriad ^ | September 13, 2006 | Katie Reetz

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GREENSBORO — A polite smile and genteel Southern manners will get you a lot of things.

Opened doors, a kiss on the hand and, if you're lucky, help with heavy boxes.

But some tasks are beyond even the best efforts of a woman born and bred on this side of the Mason-Dixon line.

Turns out top-secret family recipes are one of those things.

A few weeks ago I made it my mission to track down the mystery of the hush puppy, a scrumptious glob of fried cornmeal served in seafood and barbecue restaurants across the Triad and around the country.

The result?

Spectacular failure.

The Southern dish has been served alongside fried fish and barbecue for years. Sometimes the golden cornmeal comes in a crescent shape, other times it's round. The pups can be salty, sweet or stuffed with an assortment of veggies and cheeses. They're always delicious.

The history of hush puppies is as storied as it is uncertain.

Some say they were invented in 1727 by nuns in the territory that would later become Louisiana. Others say an African cook in Atlanta tossed the doughy balls on the floor to quiet a whining puppy. Still others trace the famous side dish to hunters, trappers and Confederate soldiers who wanted to silence their yipping canines.

Whatever their roots, hush puppies have become one of those uniquely Southern foods that drive otherwise civilized people to fisticuffs debating whose mama has the superior recipe.

I made several stops in my cruise around town. Everywhere I went, owners and employees were as sweet as their tea, offering me drinks and samples of the savory pups.

They seemed determined to please their inquiring guest and went out of their way to make my visit enjoyable. Mindful of my upbringing, I thanked them and brushed their offers aside with a smile. The one thing I wanted was what they weren't willing to give — their secret hush puppy recipes.

"It's like my grandmother used to say," says Chip Stamey, owner of Stamey's Barbecue. "I'll tell you everything that's in them, but not how much."

Stamey and I chatted near the barbecue pit at his High Point Road location. Our conversation was light-hearted and peppered with laughter. I thought I had a shot.

The first time I asked for his grandmother's original recipe, he tried to make it seem like his rebuff was more for my benefit.

"Oh, you wouldn't want that," he said. "It makes too many."

When I tried a more direct approach, he politely shot me down. No way I was getting that recipe in my reporter's notepad.

My conversation with other owners and managers was much the same.

Oh, what a fun idea, they chuckled.

How flattering it was to think of them, they cooed.

But share their recipe? Surely, I must be kidding.

There's a lot to be said for Greensboro's hospitality, but the sweet talk stops when family recipes are on the line.

Contact Katie Reetz at 691-5091 or kreetz@news-record.com

RECIPES

We did our best to snag hush puppy recipes from your favorite local restaurants, but, alas, we came back empty-handed. These recipes might not be local, but they're still delicious.

Traditional Hush Puppies

1 1/2 cups white or yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup water

Combine cornmeal, salt and baking soda; stir in onion. Add buttermilk and water, and stir just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Drop by rounded teaspoonsful into hot fat (375 degrees), and fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove from fat and drain on paper towels.

Cheddar Hush Puppies

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup self-rising white cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

Combine cheese, cornmeal, flour, onion and sugar. Add combined milk and egg, mixing until well blended. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of batter into deep hot oil (375 degrees). Fry until golden brown, turning once. Drain and serve warm.

Shrimp Hush Puppies

2 cups cooked and shredded shrimp

2 (6 ounce) packages of jalapeno corn bread mix

1 (1 pound, 1 ounce) can cream corm

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper

Oil for frying

Shred cooked shrimp in a food processor or chop finely with a knife. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Heat oil to 365 degrees. Drop mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls into hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. Remove the puppies from the oil and drain them on absorbent paper.

Baked Hush Puppies

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 cup milk

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup melted fat or oil

Stir dry ingredients together. Add remaining ingredients, and stir only until well blended. Place 1 tablespoon of batter into well-greased small muffin tin wells. Place muffin pans on sheet of aluminum the size of the pan to prevent over browning. Bake in a hot oven at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

— Recipes courtesy of Cooks.com.

[Rte66]

*With a name like "Sanitary," it has to be good.*

[Rte66]

Awww. My late father always called it "Bob-a-cue," too.

[Rte66]

Agreed. Thanks for the concordance on the subject. I knew there had to be some scripture that addressed it.

[kalee]

Going on 10 years in NC and I have yet to learn "to deal" with the BBQ.
I like Memphis style best and I'm not even from TN.

[fredhead]

Funny story about the name. When it opened, in 1938, "Sanitary" meant that they served NO alcoholic beverages.

[Rte66]

No kidding? I've never heard of that before. Not even in Oklahoma when it was dry! We did have a "Sanitary Dairy" brand of milk, tho.

"Sanitary" reminds me of the "sanitary straw dispensers" that came out when they started wrapping drinking straws individually. "Never touched by human hands."

[Amelia]

How did my Grandmother make those flat, delcious fried hoecakes that we always ate with the day's catch?

Not sure about your Grandmother, but my Grandma claimed that hers were just cornmeal mixed with water to about the consistency of pancake batter, and then fried in a cast iron skillet.

I will tell you that I've tried it, and most of mine don't come out near as good as I remember hers tasting.

Now my Grandpa used to make a breakfast hoecake that was a skillet-sized biscuit baked on top of the stove. I can't make those at all.

[Amelia]

My tee-totaler aunts loved my mom's hushpuppies, and she didn't dare tell them it was because she used beer as the liquid in them...

[groanup]

Well, these things were absolutely flat, had a slightly greasy taste, were pure fried, and melted in your mouth. The only other time I have ever seen them was about 25 years ago in a little seafood restauraunt in Mexico Beach, Fla.

[Amelia]

That sounds like the right thing. The best ones were really crispy around the edges?

I cooked a pile of them one afternoon, trying to get it right, and some of them almost were, but were a tad too greasy. I think it has something to do with the type grease you use, and the temperature you fry them at.

[groanup]

I'll try to recreate them too. If I do I'll ping you.

[groanup]

I'll try to recreate them too. If I do I'll ping you.

[Amelia]

Sounds good! Good luck!

[JWinNC]

Ummmm.... dang! ...wipes drool from shirt.

You're killing me, this should have been an after-lunch NC ping. ;>

jw

[Alia]

lol!