Homestyle Corn Dogs
Never mind the State Fair, you can make a batch of delicious dogs at home!
I love corn dogs more than I should. I’ve been eating golden brown, crispy battered hot dogs on a stick since I was a kid, and I’ll keep eating them until they bury me. When I get hungry (please note, I’m always hungry) at the State Fair, local markets or music festival, I’ll head towards the corn dog stall instead of a healthier food truck when it’s time for a snack.
Corn dogs are also great to pull out of the freezer for a lazy day snack, although my wife doesn’t share my enthusiasm for these delicious gems! Dipping a corn dog into a mason jar stuffed with batter is a curiously enjoyable task, and something I can get the kids to help with. Getting to help make corn dogs means they’re happier to eat them along with me, while I trick them into watching football for an afternoon.
I’ve enjoyed learning to make corn dogs at home. They’re more expensive than ever to buy frozen (or at the fair), and I like being able to make them from start to finish using the brands of hot dogs I like most, and ingredients from the pantry (I’m also an absolute sucker for buttermilk).
Cooking homestyle corn dogs is a simple process, especially if you are okay with using the deep fryer. While I now try to find alternatives to deep frying, such as the air fryer or grill, corn dogs are a must to do old school. Before I learned what I was doing with the ‘magic appliance’, air frying wet batter was an absolute disaster. Unless you want horrible tasting food and an annoying clean up job, give the air fryer a miss and stick with a saucepan full of vegetable oil!
Getting the corn dog coating technique right when you first start out is the trickiest part of the process. You want to twist the hot dog to get batter to stick on cleanly and evenly, then again when submerging the stick in the oil to get it set. While you’re not looking to get a perfectly symmetrical barrel, with homestyle corn dogs you still want a great, crunchy golden coating.
The recipe below contains everything you need to make a delicious homestyle corn dog the way you like it, and they’re great for when you’ve got guests and want to eat something tasty, but slightly guilty!
Homestyle Corn Dogs
Ingredients
- 8 hot dogs
- 1/2 cup cornstarch (for dusting hot dogs)
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-2 tablespoons raw sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or whole milk)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
- Ketchup and Dijon mustard, to taste
- Kosher Salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Pat each hot dog dry with a paper towel, then thread each one onto a 6-inch skewer, leaving enough room for a hand grip at one end. Lightly sprinkle the hot dogs with cornstarch, then rub evenly to make a light coating all over. Set aside.
- Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and red pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, honey, and egg in another, slightly larger bowl.
- Combine the two mixtures together in the bigger bowl, then whisk until smooth. The final batter should be a little thicker than pancake mix. Let the batter stand for 5 minutes, before transferring to a tall container or glass to coat the hot dogs.
- In a heavy saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F. While the oil heats, fully dip each hot dog into the batter individually, using a twisting technique to completely coat them with the batter.
- Remove the hot dog (while twisting it to keep shape) from the batter, then lower it diagonally in the hot oil, twirling it by the stick for 5 seconds to set the corn dog batter’s shape.
- Once set, release the stick and fry the corn dog for three minutes, or until cooked golden brown on all sides. Repeat the process for each corn dog, however you can fry them two-three at a time to speed up the process, once you’ve got the hang of it.
- Remove the cooked corn dogs from the oil and place on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper, then serve corn dogs with Dijon or yellow mustard and ketchup.
Recipe adapted from Life in the Lofthouse
