Thinking quickly, they fried up some cornmeal cakes, tossed them to their raucous dogs, and ordered, "hush, puppies!" Many learned historians, therefore, have transferred the hushpuppy origin story from fishermen to soldiers.Ī band of Confederate troops, the typical story in this line goes, were cooking dinner around a campfire one night when they heard Yankee soldiers approaching. I have no idea why people would take a bunch of hunting dogs on a fishing trip, but that’s how the story goes.īut remember we’re talking about a Southern food here, so many folks feel compelled to link its origins-likely every other dish or recipe in the South-to the Civil War, since that’s the only event of any significance that has happened in these parts. The aroma sets their hounds to howling and yapping in anticipation, so the cooks fry up bits of cornmeal batter and toss them to the dogs to hush them. The most frequently-repeated story involves fishing expeditions where anglers return to camp and start frying their catch over the fire. They’ve come up with an array of tales that range from silly to stupid. Over the years, any number of would-be culinary historians have taken a stab at explaining the origin of the oddly-named hushpuppy. well, that’s where it all goes to the dogs. In fact, the Carolinas can proudly claim to be the birthplace of this now-iconic American food.Ī hushpuppy is a simple treat-thick cornmeal batter dropped in spheres (or nuggets or fingers) into hot oil and fried till crisp and brown. Of course, here in the Carolinas we’ve been eating hushpuppies alongside fried seafood and barbecue for decades. Hushpuppies come alongside the ribs and brisket at R&R Barbecue in Salt Lake City, Utah
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