Yeah, I know, the title is a mess. But I felt I needed to convey all the awesomeness that you’re about to experience a single bite. That’s right, all those things will hit you in a single bite, and that bite is awesome.

Here’s the background: A couple weeks ago, I was watching football at a bar with a friend, and we decided to get some food. We of course got some standards like chicken wings, but they had these sausage cornbread ball things that sounded interesting, so I ordered them. Unfortunately, they were really shitty. Like, not even remotely good at all. There was honestly nothing redeeming about them except they had a pretty nice spherical shape. When I left the bar, I thought to myself, “I could make a much better version of those. In fact, I SHOULD make a much better version of those!” And so I did. And that’s what these are. These have all the flavor I was missing before, and I won’t make you bother with trying to make them look pretty. These are designed to be made in grand piles for your game-watching pleasure, but be forewarned: once you make these for your friends, you will have to make them again.

Fritters

• 1 lb spicy Italian sausage
• 1.5 c cornmeal
• 1 c flour
• 1 c milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1 c grated sharp cheddar
• 4 jalapenos
• 1 medium onion

Dipping Sauce

• 1 c maple syrup
• 1/4 c spicy brown mustard
• 4 T frank’s red hot
• 8 T butter
• 1/2 t salt

• Use a cheese grater to grate the jalapeños and onions; set aside.
• Take the casing off your sausage, and crumble the meat.
• Brown your sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat; remove from skillet and set aside to cool.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, milk, butter, and eggs, then mix thoroughly.
• Add the jalapeños, onions, sausage, and cheese, then mix well.
• Heat a couple inches of oil in a dutch oven on medium high heat to about 350 F.
• Put the mustard, butter, maple syrup, and hot sauce into a small pot on medium heat, and let simmer for about 15 minutes, then turn heat off.
• Scoop 1-2 T of batter and carefully push off spoon from an inch above the oil – you want to make sure you’re close enough so that it won’t splash. Repeat until you have 4-6 fritters going.
• Fry for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden to dark brown on the outside (dark brown is not necessarily burnt here; think the edges of skillet cornbread).
• Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove them from heat as they finish and place on paper towels. Remove all fritters from each round of frying before you start on the next batch (4-6 per batch).
• If you don’t have a thermometer for your oil, fry the first fritter by itself. If it takes a really long time to get brown, you need to turn up the heat a bit. If it seems to cook too quickly, pop it open and make sure the batter on the inside is cooked all the way through. If not, you need to turn your heat down.
• Pile the fritters high, and serve alongside the dipping sauce.
• Be prepared for these to go really fast.