LEE'S GLUTEN-FREE HUSHPUPPIES

Steps:

• 1. Lee's Gluten-free Hushpuppies Crispy thin outer crust, fluffy inside! Dry Ingredients 1 cup white rice flour 1 cup white cornmeal 1 tbsp baking powder 2 tbsp baking soda 1/2 cup white sugar 1 tsp iodized table salt 1/2 tsp xanthan gum 1 tbsp heaping parsley flakes Other Ingredients 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped 2 eggs, beaten 1 can creamed corn, 10-14 ounce average 1/4 cup milk on reserve, if needed Thoroughly hand mix all Dry Ingredients in a large bowl. I generally only use xanthan gum if I intend on freezing half of my batter, because xanthan gum keeps the batter from separating when thawing. This freezes well, use a freezer baggie and be sure to get all the air out. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Add the Other Ingredients, but don't add any milk just yet. Stir until the batter is thoroughly blended. The batter should be at a desirable thickness from the creamed corn, like a slightly thick cornbread batter, if not thin with just a little bit of milk. If too thin add extra cornmeal. After your batter is just right plug in and heat your deep fryer to 350F. This gives the batter a little while to rest while the fryer is heating up. I find if the oil temperature is over 350F the outside cooks too rapidly. I have made these with a non- adjustable Fry-Daddy type fryer in the past and the temperature was just perfect.
• 2. I like to use a dining teaspoon and a bigger dining tablespoon to handle the batter into the oil. Use an oiled tablespoon to dip a heavy teaspoon worth of batter and an oiled teaspoon to gently slide the batter into the oil with. Don't crowd the fryer, about 6-8 puppies at a time in a smaller Fry-daddy. Give each dropped puppie a chance to bob up before you drop the next one. Fry each puppie for about 4 minutes and then try to roll them over in the boiling oil with tongs. The hushpuppies will cook to a point were they will turn over and fry both sides evenly. Usual total fry time is 6-8+ minutes after they pop up. When done both sides will be a medium golden brown but not dark. To check cut one in half as soon as you pull it out. It should look a bit uncooked (wet) in the center but this is what you want. This will be absorbed while the hushpuppies are cooling and make them even more fluffy. The outside will be a very nice micro-thin almost cracker crust thanks to the rice flour. Notes: The parsley is mainly for color and also lets you see how well mixed your ingredients are. I get my white corn meal and rice flour in the Hispanic section of my local store. I like to because the flours are highly powdered, mix beautifully, and have the perfect texture and color for this recipe. I have powdered white rice at home to make this, just let your batter (and do add the xanthan gum) set about an hour in the refrigerator to absorb more.