Enrique Guerrero’s frying skills were on display during a potluck, when he served an endless parade of crispy Green Chile Hushpuppies, laced with corn cut from the cob and fresh New Mexico green chile.

Meet the Chef Behind These Green Chile Hushpuppies

In 1983, Enrique Guerrero was painting houses in San Francisco when the painting company he was working for abruptly shut down. Walking home from his last gig, Enrique saw a “Now Hiring” sign outside a restaurant. He veered in and was hired immediately as a dishwasher. By sheer luck, he had wandered into what became a seminal restaurant of its day, Masa, founded by revered Chef Masataka Kobayashi and headed by another legend, Julian Serrano. Chef Serrano soon saw his new dishwasher’s potential and promoted him.

Flash forward to jobs at with top spots like Le Cirque under Daniel Boulud and a move to Santa Fe as executive chef of La Casa Sena. But Enrique kept thinking about becoming his own boss. He ultimately decided to open a food truck. Bang Bite, his tangerine bright truck, sits behind the Santa Fe Brewing Company’s Brakeroom in downtown Santa Fe. It’s especially known for burgers and Friday fish and chips.

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Green Chile Hushpuppies

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• Author: Enrique Guerrero
• Yield: Makes about 4 dozen 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Give your hushpuppies a bit of a bite with the addition of green chile and fresh corn kernels.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the dry ingredients:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup yellow cornmeal
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder (increase by ¼ teaspoon at low altitude)
• ½ tsp baking soda (increase by a small pinch at low altitude)
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup grated sharp or medium Cheddar or Monterey Jack or Asadero cheese
• ½ cup fresh corn kernels from 1 medium ear of corn
• 2 fresh New Mexican green chiles, or poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro

For the wet ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs

For frying:

• 4 cups peanut oil or other neutral oil

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Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
2. Pour the oil into a large saucepan or Dutch oven and heat to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with a couple of layers of paper towels, and top with a baking rack.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the batter and carefully drop rounds of batter into the hot oil. Add a few more spoonfuls of batter but don’t crowd the mixture. Fry about 4 minutes, using a spider or slotted spoon to drain the hushpuppies before transferring to the baking rack. Continue frying with additional batter. Serve the hushpuppies hot.

Recipe by Enrique Guerrero
Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Tira Howard

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