A small but powerful snack! Famous chef Jason Santos has the perfect recipe to step up your appetizer game — its flavorful jalapeño, cheddar, and bacon hush puppies.
“I love them because they’re so easy to make,” said de The kitchen of hell star, 46, exclusively shares his dish – which is featured in his new cookbook Simple fantasy – in the latest issue of Us weekly. “They can be used as a pass canape, plated appetizer or even a side dish.”
A hush puppy is a savory bite-sized delight that usually consists of deep-fried cornmeal batter. As a staple of Southern cuisine, they are usually served as a side dish that can be paired with seafood and other fried treats. What makes the sous chef recipe so special is its versatility.
“Use my recipe as a base and flavor them however you like!” explains the Boston-based restaurateur Us.
Santos was the runner-up in the seventh season of Gordon Ramsaycooking competition series. He later returned to the reality show as a sous chef for seasons 19, 20, and 21. He is best known for his Buttermilk & Bourbon restaurants, which serve New Orleans-inspired dishes.
Keep reading for his hush puppy recipe:
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
¾ cup of sugar
2 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup onion powder
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 cup bacon
1½ cups of shredded yellow cheddar
3 cups of milk
3 eggs
¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
¾ cup canned pickled jalapeños diced
Canola oil, for frying
Salt and pepper mix, to taste
Spicy creole ranch dressing or red remoulade sauce, to serve
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, baking soda, onion powder, and Cajun seasoning; this is the dry mixture.
- In a small bowl, combine bacon, cheddar, milk, eggs, vinegar, and jalapeños; this is the wet mix. The vinegar will curdle the milk a bit, which is fine.
- Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Heat canola oil in a pan to about 350 degrees. With a small shovel, scoop a shovel of the batter into the oil and fry until golden brown and done. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with a spicy creole ranch dressing or red remoulade.