Hushpuppies with Bacon & Pepper Jack

Hushpuppies with a crispy, golden outside and soft, cornbread inside infused with bacon, pepper Jack cheese dunked in the most tantalizing sweet and tangy Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce!

Hushpuppies are one of the most crave worthy morsels ever – AND this hushpuppies recipe is one of the world’s easiest appetizers to make!

I remember the very first time my teeth sunk into deep fried hushpuppies.  I was 11.  It was summer vacation.  Hawaii.  Bubba Gumps.  And paradise just got even more paradisiacal.

What is a Hushpuppy?

A hushpuppy is basically deep fried cornmeal batter aka deep fried cornbread.  As if cornbread wasn’t delicious enough?!  The name “hushpuppies” is often attributed to hunters and trappers who would be on the trail for months at at time.  When their hunting dogs would get hungry at night, the hunters would cook a basic cornmeal mixture on the grease of the fire and feed it the dogs to “hush puppies.”   Maybe that’s also where the term “lucky dogs” comes from.

If you have never devoured hushpuppies before, please end your depravation right now starting with these Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies with the most crazy delicious Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce.  And I realize my last three recipes have featured pepper jack cheese (Southwest Pepper Jack Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing, Bacon Ranch Pepper Jack Pull Apart Bread and now these Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies), so I guess you now have three wonderfully delicious reasons to buy pepper jack, starting with these incredibly easy, tasty hushpuppies.  And if you need one more reason  – everyone gathered around your television in their matching football jerseys will love you for it!

How to Make Hushpuppies

This hushpuppies recipe is so easy to make and take less than 30 minutes start to finish (most of that time is just babysitting them as they fry).  Good thing, because you will probably inhale them in less than 10 minutes and need a second batch.  To make, simply combine your “wet” ingredients – creamed corn, green onion, pepper jack cheese, sharp cheddar, bacon and eggs with your dry ingredients – cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and some spices to form a batter.

Drop the batter by 1 1/2 teaspoons (they don’t need to be neat!)  into hot oil to fry.  That’s it!  Couldn’t get any easier or any more delicious.

Oh wait, they can.

Dip the golden hushpuppies in Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce which is a simple mixture of Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce, Dijon mustard, honey and hot sauce.  Sweet, tangy perfection.  You will love it!  I’m already concocting a chicken recipe based purely on this sauce – its that good.

These epic Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies are the perfect appetizer, along with my Bacon Ranch Jalapeno Pull Apart Bread, BBQ Pizza Chicken Dip and Sticky Buffalo Honey Hot Wings for the current football extravaganza.  Or for kind of daily extravaganza you have going on.

Every day can be paradisaical with these Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies!

Print Recipe

Hushpuppies with Bacon & Pepper Jack

Hushpuppies with a crispy, golden outside and soft, cornbread inside infused with bacon, pepper Jack cheese dunked in the most tantalizing sweet and tangy Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce! Hushpuppies are one of the most crave worthy morsels ever - AND they are one of the world's easiest appetizers to make!

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Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

hushpuppies

Ingredients

Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce

• 1/2 cup Asian sweet red chili sauce (like Mae Ploy)
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies

• 1 1/2 quarts peanut, canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups fine cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Wet ingredients

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 15 oz. can creamed corn
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cooked bacon, finely crumbled
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly chopped

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Servings hushpuppies Ingredients Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce 1/2 cup Asian sweet red chili sauce (like Mae Ploy) 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons honey Hot sauce to taste (optional) Bacon Pepper Jack Hushpuppies 1 1/2 quarts peanut, canola or vegetable oil, for frying Dry Ingredients 1 1/2 cups fine cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Wet ingredients 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 15 oz. can creamed corn 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup cooked bacon, finely crumbled 1/2 cup freshly grated Pepper Jack cheese 1/4 cup green onions, thinly chopped

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Instructions

1. Whisk together Sweet Chili Dijon Sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Heat oil to 350F degrees in a deep-fryer or Dutch oven.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together Wet Ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together Dry Ingredients. Pour Dry Ingredients into Wet ingredients and stir just until evenly combined. Chill for 5 minutes.*
4. Drop batter by 1 1/2 teaspoons (or 1 heaping teaspoon) into the hot oil (it will be sticky!). Fry hushpuppies in batches for 2-3 minutes or until golden, flipping them about halfway through. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan while frying so you will have room to flip. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer fried hushpuppies to a paper towel lined baking sheet or serving platter.
5. Hush puppies are best served hot but still delicious room temperature. You can also reheat in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Recipe Notes

*I like to work with half of the mixture at time and keep the other half in the refrigerator until I'm ready for it because it is easier to handle when slightly chilled.

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