Lenten seafood menus are everyday at Hudson’s in SC
While traveling with my older sister Pam in South Carolina last year, we stayed a few days on Hilton Head Island at a getaway timeshare condo she uses as a favorite quick vacation escape.
This adventure was my first time visiting Hilton Head, a secluded beach framed paradise I often associate with the late comedian Garry Moore, who is still celebrated today for having first discovered a young Carol Burnett in the late 1950s and giving her the spotlight on his popular CBS variety show.
Northwest Indiana natives also know Moore as the longtime game show host of CBS’ popular “I’ve Got A Secret,” which starred our Northwest Indiana region smiling celeb claim-to-fame Betsy Palmer, who was one of the show’s regular panelists throughout the 1960s.
Moore spent his final retirement years of the 1980s and early 1990s at his home on Hilton Head until his death at age 78 in 1993.
One of his favorite dining destinations on the island was Hudson’s on the Docks, prized for the freshest oysters and seafood, all billed as making its way from nets and boats, to plates and menus, within just hours!
Pam took me as her guest to Hudson’s on the Docks to experience what has lured so many notable names throughout the years, in addition to Garry Moore, since this eatery opened in 1912 at the same time the original oyster factory was being built and a family seafood processing business launched.
J.B. Hudson Sr. started the family business and continued the operations until 1975, when Brian and Gloria Carmines became hooked after relocating from Long Island, New York and purchasing Hudson’s.
Today, it is Brian and Gloria’s son Andrew running the show, and dividing his time between fishing boats and the kitchen. Andrew, who has lived on the island his entire life, is also the founder and president of the Shell Ring Oyster Co.
On a busy non-pandemic night, Hudson’s serves as many as 1,000 guests.
“My recommendation is to not be tempted to fill up on just our homemade hushpuppies, even though they are really delicious,” Andrew told me, while stopping to chat with me as he made his nightly restaurant rounds.
“I always say, besides what’s on the menu, order whatever is the fresh fish special of the day. For example, in the month of April, it’s always soft shell crab, while all of the winter months are a great time for oysters.”
More than 90 percent of the restaurant’s seafood comes from the local boats, with Hudson’s guests enjoying as much as 3,000 gallons of cooked oysters per year in addition to 70,000 pounds of shrimp, and more than 250,000 raw oysters served on the half shell.
Andrew loves to share the history and lore of fishermen from the centuries, including how the name “hushpuppy” came to be.
“We have a lot of beach of course, and when fisherman would come back from a big catch, that meant a big fish fry too,” Andrew said.
“The fishermen always had dogs around, and dogs are always hungry. A bit of fried cornmeal with some seasoning became the quick bite to toss to a hungry and noisy barking do as a way to get them to ‘hush’ and stay quiet.”
Lenten Friday menus often include coleslaw as a popular side. The “SevenDay Slaw” vinegar-based recipe served at Hudson’s is above and beyond all of the usual mayonnaise based incarnations and it remains fresh and tasty stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@ comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.
Hudson’s Seven-Day Slaw
Makes 6 servings
■ 1 whole cabbage
■ 1 red onion
■ 1 green bell pepper
■ ⅓ cup sugar
■ 1 cup oil
■ 1 cup cider vinegar
■ ½ tablespoon mustard powder
■ salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Shred cabbage and finely dice onion and pepper.
2. In a saucepan, combine sugar, oil, vinegar, mustard powder and salt and pepper and bring to a slight boil and immediately remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, toss cabbage with onion and green pepper and pour the hot brine over contents of bowl and mix well.
4. Chill coleslaw for one hour and serve.