Hush Puppies with Crab and Bacon

By mirelsonp

Ingredients

• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 Tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk, more if needed
• 2 Tbsp warm bacon fat (or melted and slightly cooled butter)
• 1 cup crab meat (about 1/2 pound)
• 8 pieces well-cooked bacon, chopped fine
• Salt and pepper
• Oil, for deep-frying
• Butter, for serving

Details

Servings 3

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towel. In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and bacon fat. add to the cornmeal mixture and mix to combine. Stir in crab and bacon and season to taste. Allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes while oil heats.

3. In a Dutch oven or other large pot, add enough oil to come to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium-high heat until oil is 350 to 360 degrees F.

4. Form batter into golf ball-size balls. (If batter is too dry to cohere well, stir in a bit more buttermilk.) Drop balls into hot oil 5 or 6 at a time and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. As each batch is finished, place on baking sheet and put into the oven to keep warm. Serve accompanied by plenty of room temperature butter.