What to Serve With Hush Puppies?

[JENNYBEEAY]

We're serving hush puppies for the first time for friends who want Southern BBQ. Can someone tell me how you serve these? Do you make a dip or spread for them?

[c oliver]

No, you just eat them. I like them with fried catfish.

[catahoula fan]

BBQ and hush puppies...sounds like you could use a good green to round that out. I like to serve greens beans (cooked with some bacon of course and topped with lots of butter) when I make hush puppies. Puppies will soak up the that buttery liquid just right!

[burp_excuzme]

This may sound weird...but mix equal amounts of ketchup and mayo together for dipping!

[rockycat]

Most restaurants serve butter or a pseudo-butter spread alongside. Some restaurants down east (that's eastern NC) will serve the basket of hushpuppies with honey butter. The Spouse always sprinkles his with Texas Pete. I like my mine nekkid, hot out of the fryer.

[Analisas mom]

Hush puppies are served in the South with Catfih, Cole slaw, Green tomato relish, and butter. Thats it.

[rockycat]

I think we're going to get into regional differences here. In NC and Tidewater VA a basket of puppies is served immediately upon being seated in every BBQ restaurant around. They're not a side dish, per se. They come with every meal automatically, just like some places might put down a bread basket. Of course, fried fish restaurants will also serve hushpuppies with all their fried meals.

Green tomato relish sounds pretty good on catfish but I've never seen it served in a restaurant, let alone with hushpuppies.

FWIW, my favorite "go with" for hush puppes (aside from Q) is field peas.

[Fritter]

The REAL questioin is what do you put in your hush puppies? I hate those bland pucks that are more like hush poopies.
I often add;
Minced green and red peppers.
Minced sweet onion.
Jalapeno
sugar

[c oliver]

My daddy was always the hush puppy maker in the family. Plenty of onions and eat them hot out of the oil.

[chef chicklet]

And my daddy would make them spicy! Onions cut fine and with cayenne pepper and salt. My goodness he loved that stuff. Actually his are the only ones I've had that I like because they can be boring and dry. And I think they're was the addition of bacon grease to the oil, of course fried them in the deep cast iron pan.

[bayoucook]

me, too, and sometimes a little sharp cheese
We always fried them in the catfish grease and ate with coleslaw and whatever hot vegetable we had that day - a cornbread-loving veggie like field peas or greens.

[Fritter]

mmmm cheese puppies and catfish!

[Uncle Bob]

It is a must for me to have my weekly ration of Fried Catfish and Hush Puppies...I can get real irritable with out it!..... :).. In the fall and winter for me there is nothing that can compare to a big bowl of mustard greens/with turnip roots, fried catfish, hush puppies, and a jar of hot pepper sauce..Oh!..and don't dare let a hush puppy fall into the pot-likker...Oh my goodness!! ;)

[bayoucook]

So many people don't understand that jar of hot sauce - it makes those greens stand up and cheer! Love it. I'm assuming you mean the vinegary pickled hot peppers, like Trappey's.

[Uncle Bob]

Yes! Like Trappey's...but I like Uncle Bob's better!!!!
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[bayoucook]

I want those! I always add fresh peppers and hot vinegar to the store-bought ones, but am thinking of making my own b/c yours look so damned good.

[Uncle Bob]

Look for Cayenne, Tabasco or Serrano peppers..Trim off the stem to allow the hot vinegar into the peppers. Add a teaspoon of plain (not iodized) salt per quart.

Mine are Cayenne and "Cow Horn" Cayenne...Very hot...Very large...I had to use 1/2 gallon mason jars to hold them.

Time to plant greens!!!! Gotta get busy!!!

[c oliver]

Oh, yeah, over 20+ years, I've definitely educated my husband about the "proper" pepper sauce - vinegary - for greens.

[LaLa]

we do honey butter or strawberry butter as a dipping sauce.

[JerryMe]

I like mine w/ tarter sauce. Even w/ BBQ and not catfish. Like Fritter said - add in the flavor!

[JungMann]

I've always had my hush puppies served plain or at least with butter (although I used to dip in ketchup and hot sauce). Recently, though, I had some served with a thick buttermilk scallion dip that was great with the jalapenos in the fritters themselves.