What’s a hushpuppy?
It’s not my noisy dog but a simple, deep-fried cornbread “cake” iconic in southern-style cooking. The name is almost as good as the food.
According to author and editor Jorie Nicole McDonald, when it comes to hushpuppies “It’s all about fried food and a good story.”
There are so many good stories that it’s nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction. Which only proves that this crispy cornbread fritter has delighted our taste buds and imaginations for a very long time.
Let’s begin with Red Horse Bread. Would you eat that?
There’s no red or horse in the bread – only Romeo Govan.
Romeo Govan was a slave freed after the Civil War. He set up house on a small plot of land next to the Edisto River in South Carolina. The river was bursting with Red fish (also known as Red Drum, Channel Bass, and River Red Horse). As a master chef, Govan hosted fish fries and popular events in his “club house.” He was best known for preparing the difficult-to-eat bony River Red Horse Fish. Along with the fish, Govan served Red Horse Bread (what we call hushpuppies).
By 1908 Govan hosted a fish fry almost every day of the season. Guests feasted on his fish and his bread, described by the 1903 Augusta Chronicle, “once eaten, never-to-be-forgotten red horse bread.”
