The Crunchy Southern Staple That Gets Even More Crunch With A Beer Addition

Cooking with beer is something that can be difficult to experiment with at first, but quickly pays dividends due to how much the ingredient can improve some of your favorite recipes. While there are many ways to cook with beer you've likely never even thought of, using it in the batter for fried foods is a surefire way to find success. When it comes to Southern dishes, there are few fried foods quite as iconic as hushpuppies, and the crispy fried cornmeal balls are as delicious as ever when made adding a splash of your favorite brew.

While it's hard to identify the exact date people started making the classic recipe we know as hushpuppies, its unique name dates back to at least 1927, when Georgians began using it for the food which had previously been known as red horse bread. Today, the simple yet delicious appetizer has several interesting variations, with the beer-battered one being arguably the crispiest and most delicious. We spoke to Chef Josh Taylor — the owner of Lost Isle in Johns Island, South Carolina — to get some insight into what makes beer so great for the dish. "Beer adds carbonation, which creates a lighter, crispier exterior when fried. It also helps with browning, giving hushpuppies better texture and color," Taylor explained. He went so far as to call the use of beer "a chef's kiss" when it comes to upgrading the delicious fried food.

When it comes to cooking with beer, it's important to remember that different beers can have vastly different impacts, and thus some are better suited for hushpuppies than others. For Taylor, light lagers like Bud Light and Miller Light or blonde ales like the lesser-known (yet delicious) Victory Summer Love or Firestone Walker 805 are ideal for the job. This is because they are all relatively simple in terms of flavor while still providing a delicious boost when combined with all the typical ingredients that make hushpuppies so great. As for how to implement one of these beers into the mix, Taylor explained that all it takes is a simple swap in your recipe. "[Swap] beer for part of the liquid in the batter," the chef explained. "Folding it in gently keeps the batter airy and the flavor clean."

As for implementing additional ingredients into your recipe, you can make beer-battered hushpuppies even better by adding other mix-ins that complement the dish. For example, adding jalapenos and cheese is a popular choice, while others choose to add yellow onions to the mix to give them a more textured interior. Whatever it is you choose to add, maximizing the ingredient list will make this all-time great Southern comfort food even better as a result.