Andouille Sausage Hush Puppies with Cajun Mayo Dipping Sauce

Further to the post, Gadget Grub, here's a recipe I made with another kitchen gadget, a Fry Daddy Deep Fat Fryer that My Number One Fan gave me perhaps five years ago which I never got around to using.  Deep fried foods is something not routinely on my diet and to be honest, I was a little intimidated by using a deep fryer.  My parents had one when I was growing up and I recall my dad getting splashed with hot grease one time while frying some shrimp.  It was a scary moment, however, the shrimp were delicious and my dad was not severely injured beyond his pride. But still, it left an indelible impression.

This past Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday - otherwise known as Mardi Gras.  Readers of my recipe blog, all three of them, will know I haven't allowed the passing of Fat Tuesday the last couple of years without some form of New Orleans culinary remembrance. Consider my 2023 Fat Tuesday recipe for Jambalaya and in 2022 for Red Beans & Rice.  But on this occasion of the final day of debauchery before atonement, I turned to a 2009 recipe for Shrimp Creole.  As a starter for my guests, I decided to make Hush Puppies with a spicy dipping sauce.  This would require me to finally pull the Fry Daddy out of storage and give it a try.

The Fry Daddy is made by Presto.  It's an ideal appliance for safely deep frying small batches of food.  There are no controls, so it fries food at an automatic goof-proof setting of 375$$°F.\; It\; has\; a\; sturdy\; handle\; and\; a\; break-away\; plug\; for\; safety.\; I\; found\; that\; it\; was\; easy\; to\; use\; and\; I\; was\; confident\; in\; handling\; it\; without\; fear\; of\; splattering\; because\; the\; fryer\; uses\; only\; four\; cups\; of\; oil,\; which\; is\; only\; about\; 25\%\; of\; the\; volume\; of\; the\; container.\; That\; gives\; a\; lot\; of\; room\; for\; heat\; expansion\; as\; food\; bubbles\; and\; sputters.$$

A lot of hush puppy recipes on the Internet inconveniently call for self-rising flour.  Unless you are a baker, you probably have all-purpose flour in your pantry like I do.  I finally found a recipe that used all-purpose flour and then also shared with me how much baking powder to use, which is all that self-rising flour is: flour with baking powder and salt.  This recipe also uses buttermilk, which I learned is the defining characteristic of a hush puppy versus a fritter.  All hush puppies are fritters, but not all fritters are hush puppies, with buttermilk required in the latter to be deemed as such.

Originally, I was going to make crawfish fritters, but I live in a mountainous, landlocked state where crawfish are somewhat alien to the natives here, so I couldn't find them. Instead, I bought a freshly made Andouille sausage from my neighborhood grocer's butcher's case, which I had to cook first in a 375$$°F\; oven\; for\; about\; 40\; minutes.$$

Ingredients
For the Hush Puppies
1-1/2 cups fine or medium grind cornmeal (like, Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tbsp baking powder (like, Clabber Girl)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup beer (either a pale ale or pilsner)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup water
1 cup finely diced cooked andouille sausage (about 2 links)
4 cups vegetable oil for frying 

Ingredients
For the Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning (like, Slap Ya Mama)
1 tsp hot sauce (like, Tabasco)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic powder

The Recipe
Mix all ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside in the refrigerator. It should sit at least an hour before serving to allow time for the flavors to amalgamate.

$$Stir\; together\; the\; cornmeal,\; flour,\; baking\; powder,\; salt,\; and\; sausage\; in\; a\; large\; bowl.$$

$$In\; a\; separate\; bowl,\; stir\; together\; the\; egg,\; beer,\; buttermilk,\; water\; and\; dried\; onion.\; Allow\; to\; sit\; for\; thirty\; minutes\; so\; the\; onions\; can\; reconstitute.$$

$$Pour\; the\; 4\; cups\; of\; oil\; into\; a\; Fry\; Daddy\; (to\; the\; MAX\; line);\; plug\; in\; and\; allow\; 15\; minutes\; for\; the\; oil\; to\; come\; to\; a\; temperature\; of\; 375°F.\; If\; you\; don\text{'}t\; have\; a\; Fry\; Daddy,\; use\; a\; heavy\; saucepan\; or\; Dutch\; oven\; with\; an\; attached\; thermometer\; with\; 3\; inches\; of\; oil,\; heated\; and\; maintained\; at$$$$375°F.$$

$$Combine\; the\; wet\; ingredients\; into\; the\; dry\; ingredients\; and\; stir\; just\; until\; moistened.\; Let\; stand\; 10\; minutes.$$

$$Using\; a\; 1-inch\; cookie\; scoop,\; or\; a\; couple\; of\; ice\; tea\; spoons,\; drop\; batter\; into\; hot\; oil,\; and\; fry\; in\; batches\; of\; five\; hush\; puppies,\; about\; 2\; minutes\; on\; each\; side\; or\; until\; golden\; brown.\; Drain\; on\; a\; wire\; rack\; over\; paper\; towels.$$

Keep warm in a 200°F oven.