Corn dogs are one of those great polarizing foods: Peeps either love ’em or hate ’em.
Me? Call me a savage, but I need once like once or twice a year, usually in the thick of summer, right around Labor Day.
They remind me of steamy August afternoons spent at town carnivals. Corn dogs. Cotton candy. Ferris wheels. The whole shebang.
It’s hokey and awesome, not to mention that I’m a sucker for almost any kind of food on a stick.
These little pups are easy breezy to make at home.
I use a modified tempura batter with fine cornmeal in it, then deep fry them to give them great toasty corn flavor and a nice crunch.
What’s in a corn dog, anyway?
I used Hebrew National hot dogs, as part of the promotion and recipe development gig I’m working on right now. (Thanks, guys!)
To enter to win free franks, become a fan of Hebrew National on Facebook and tell them why you love Hebrew National hot dogs. (Me? They’re all beef.)
I also used fine corn meal. You could sub in coarse cornmeal for more texture. And I always roll my dogs in a little corn starch before dipping them. Helps the batter stick initially.
For flour, I like to use cake flour. It’s finer, and gives you a slightly lighter crust than regular. If you don’t have cake flour and you’re having a corn dog emergency, don’t sweat it. Use regular. You’ll be just fine.
Alrighty. Let’s get frying. This is super simple.
Homemade Corn Dogs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 cup fine cornmeal
2 Tablespoons corn starch
6 hot dogs
Oil for frying
Skewers or popsicle sticks
Makes 6 corn dogs
Make the corn dog batter
Grab your egg yolks.
Slide them into a large bowl.
Drizzle in the cold water slowly, whisking as you go to emulsify the yolks.
Dump in the flour and the corn meal.
Stir until the batter just comes together. Some little lumps are just fine (break up the big ones). The more you work the batter, the denser the coating will be on the finished corn dog.
Batter your hot dogs
Grab your hot dogs. Pat them dry with paper towels. Whenever you’re deep frying something, you want it to be as dry as can be. (Wet = splatters and coating that doesn’t stick.)
I did four today, but this recipe will batter about 6 hot dogs, if not 7, depending on how thickly you coat them.
Toss the corn starch onto the hot dogs and roll them around to coat them completely.
Insert a skewer or two or a popsicle stick into one end of each dog. I used 2 skewers here because these hot dogs are longer, and my skewers were pretty thin.
When your hot dogs are corn starched and your batter is made, heat up the oil for frying.
Batter & fry the corn dogs
I like to fry these one at a time. Put too many in the pot at once, and they can stick together before the outer crust hardens, which is just a mess.
Put about 2 inches of oil in a wide pot. (It needs to be wide enough to fit the whole hot dog/stick configuration.) Heat the oil over high heat until it hits about 370 degrees F.
When the oil is at temp, take one hot dog and roll it in the batter to coat completely. Glop it on for a nice thick coating. Be more reserved if you want a thinner coating.
Carefully lower the battered dog into the hot oil. (I held them by the stick with tongs.)
Fry for your corn dog for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. When he’s done, remove him from the oil gently with tongs and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Repeat with the rest of your corn dogs until you’ve fried them all.
And…voila! Homemade corn dogs, just like you used to get at the county fair.
Serve and enjoy!
Serve hot out of the fryer.
Me? I like to dunk mine in spicy mustard.
Homemade Corn Dogs
The Hungry Mouse
Yields About 6 corn dogs
Save Recipe
Ingredients
2 egg yolks1 1/2 cups cold water1 3/4 cups cake flour1 cup fine cornmeal2 Tablespoons corn starch6 hot dogsOil for fryingSkewers or popsicle sticksInstructions
- Grab your egg yolks. Slide them into a large bowl. Drizzle in the cold water slowly, whisking as you go to emulsify the yolks.
- Dump in the flour and the corn meal.
- Stir until the batter just comes together. Some little lumps are just fine (break up the big ones). The more you work the batter, the denser the coating will be on the finished corn dog.
- Grab your hot dogs. Pat them dry with paper towels.
- Toss the corn starch onto the hot dogs and roll them around to coat them completely.
- Insert a skewer or two or a popsicle stick into one end of each dog.
- When your hot dogs are corn starched and your batter is made, heat up the oil for frying.
- Put about 2 inches of oil in a wide pot. (It needs to be wide enough to fit the whole hot dog/stick configuration.) Heat the oil over high heat until it hits about 370 degrees F.
- When the oil is at temp, take one hot dog and roll it in the batter to coat completely. Glop it on for a nice thick coating. Be more reserved if you want a thinner coating.
- Carefully lower the battered dog into the hot oil. (I held them by the stick with tongs.)
- Fry for your corn dog for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. When he’s done, remove him from the oil gently with tongs and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Repeat with the rest of your corn dogs until you’ve fried them all.
- And…voila! Homemade corn dogs, just like you used to get at the county fair. Serve hot out of the fryer.
7.8.1.277https://www.thehungrymouse.com/2013/09/06/county-fair-special-homemade-corn-dogs/
Jessie Cross, The Hungry Mouse. All rights reserved.
The Hungry Mouse
Yields About 6 corn dogs
Save RecipeIngredients
Instructions
- Grab your egg yolks. Slide them into a large bowl. Drizzle in the cold water slowly, whisking as you go to emulsify the yolks.
- Dump in the flour and the corn meal.
- Stir until the batter just comes together. Some little lumps are just fine (break up the big ones). The more you work the batter, the denser the coating will be on the finished corn dog.
- Grab your hot dogs. Pat them dry with paper towels.
- Toss the corn starch onto the hot dogs and roll them around to coat them completely.
- Insert a skewer or two or a popsicle stick into one end of each dog.
- When your hot dogs are corn starched and your batter is made, heat up the oil for frying.
- Put about 2 inches of oil in a wide pot. (It needs to be wide enough to fit the whole hot dog/stick configuration.) Heat the oil over high heat until it hits about 370 degrees F.
- When the oil is at temp, take one hot dog and roll it in the batter to coat completely. Glop it on for a nice thick coating. Be more reserved if you want a thinner coating.
- Carefully lower the battered dog into the hot oil. (I held them by the stick with tongs.)
- Fry for your corn dog for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. When he’s done, remove him from the oil gently with tongs and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Repeat with the rest of your corn dogs until you’ve fried them all.
- And…voila! Homemade corn dogs, just like you used to get at the county fair. Serve hot out of the fryer.
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Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National.
