Better Than the State Fair Corn Dogs

 I am a huge fan of the Wisconsin State Fair. Two summers ago, I was pregnant with Kendall, on bed rest, and bored. I was due at the end of August and was starting to get majorly stir-crazy. I would have given my left leg to have waddled around the fair. No one would take me though. They were all concerned I'd pop out a kid right there on the Midway! Anyway.

I love to go for all the activities that are available, but mostly I go for the food. I mean, seriously. We can see cows everyday. We live in Wisconsin, for cryin' out loud. But you know what we can't get everyday? A delicious fair corn dog. There are many places to get corn dogs at the fair, but from past experience, I have learned that the only places to get them are at the stands that are cemented in the ground and only sell corn dogs. I think they are green and yellow little buildings containing deep fried delicious goodness.

Lately I have been having a real hankering for a good corn dog. Frozen dogs from the super market are not the same. Even though the package says State Fair Corn Dogs, they are lying.  So I figured that we were babysitting a deep fryer, we might as well try making them. I searched relentlessly for what I thought would be a suitable recipe for the corn part of the dog. Here's what went down:

The first thing you need are hot dogs. I kinda dig these. They are a little thicker than a regular Oscar Meyer dog and these are along the same lines of a Hebrew National hot dog but a lot cheaper. And probably not totally Kosher. I have always wondered though, if I were indeed an Oscar Meyer wiener, would everyone fall in love with me?

Here they are, all unleashed from their packaging.

I decided that I did not want sticks. I wanted to make mini corn dogs. I received much heat for that, but I stand by my decision. I liked them mini and they fit in the deep fryer.

I was stuck using my mini cutting board because this beast was still hot taking up all sorts of space on the big cutting board. I had to make more of these:

One hundred and twenty-five more to be exact. I can't make enough. They are snatched up so fast so I decided to make an extra large batch, separate them into three bags, and freeze two for fast retrieval. Sorry for the sidebar. I am just amazed how much kids will eat food when they are in mini form.

Back to the corn dogs. I made a double batch of batter and cut up dogs because we were having some taste-testers joining us. When you say, "I am making corn dogs," you peak the interest of many! Isn't it wonderful how fried food brings us all together?

In this bowl is cornstarch, corn bread/muffin mix, sugar, baking powder, salt, flour, eggs, and milk.

I threw it all in a bowl and mixed it. That was not what I was suppose to do. You can read the real directions for proper batter mixing in the recipe below. I am a rebel. I was antsy pantsy and couldn't wait.

Here are my small audience members. Kendall was playing with a powdered sugar shaker making a mess and Avery was not excited she couldn't help because of the fact that hot oil is dangerous.

Slowly mix the batter until it is all combined. I ended up using a whisk because it is really thick. Remember not to over mix though. Too much mixing will make your batter glue-y and it will get tough.

First, you have to dust your hot dogs in cornstarch. And by dust, I literally mean, dust. You don't want the cornstarch too thick on there or the batter won't stick. But you also want to make sure there's enough so the batter sticks. Man, making corn dogs is tricky. My sous-chef was my teacher friend Amanda. She perfectly dusted those hot dogs.

As for dunking technique, I started with my fingers. That was quickly determined to be a bad idea. The batter is thick, really thick. I had to wash my hands off between each dunk. Ridiculous. Next, I tried a thongs. It didn't work. They were a little too big and wouldn't allow the batter to completely cover the dog. Finally, I tried forks. I stabbed a dog at the top, dunked it in, pulled it out, swirled it a big to get off excess batter, and used another fork to slide it off into the oil. That did the trick and worked really well.

Here they are, floating in the oil. The oil was heated to 375 degrees. They took about 5 minutes to cook perfectly. You will need to flip them around about half way through to brown the top side.

Drain them on a plate lined with a paper towel. They ended up being circular instead of ovals but don't worry, that did not affect their taste.

Here's a heaping pile of corn dogs and mozzarella sticks. I will post the recipe for those, too. They are yummy.

Here was our night in numbers:

2 packages of hot dogs cut in thirds = 48 mini hot dogs

26 pieces of string cheese cut in half = 52 mozz sticks

4 adults and 2 children were present

28 mini corn dogs were devoured

50 mozz sticks were downed

They were that good. This recipe may give fresh Wisconsin State Fair corn dogs a run for their money. I may or may not have eaten a few for breakfast. They reheat very well in the microwave, by the way.

Here's the recipe if you want to treat yourself to these nuggets of goodness:

Better Than the Fair Corn Dogs

1 package (16 Oz. Package Or 8-count) Hot Dogs
4 Tablespoons Cornstarch Plus More For Dusting
¾ cups Corn Bread Mix (I Used Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix)
6 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
½ teaspoons Baking Powder
1-½ teaspoon Salt
1 cup All-purpose, Unbleached Flour
1 whole Egg
1 cup Whole Milk
Canola Or Peanut Oil For Frying

Pour oil into a fryer or pot and heat to 375ºF.

Cut hot dogs in half and push a small stick 3/4 way into it. (Wooden skewers cut it half or small popsicle sticks work just fine.) Coat hot dogs in corn starch and dust or wipe off with your finger to get a thin, even coating. (Too much cornstarch means the batter won’t stick!) Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Create a well in the middle and pour in egg and milk. Stir slowly until batter is thick and mixed evenly. Slowly dip a prepared hot dog into the batter and hold it there about 5 seconds. Very slowly remove hot dog from the batter to keep it coated entirely. If you can start to see parts of the hot dog as you remove it from the bowl, spoon more batter over to coat entirely. Rotate coated hot dog over the bowl to remove any excess batter and then slowly and carefully drop into hot oil. Fry 4–6 minutes, rotating occasionally for an even fry until batter is a deep golden color and the hot dog is hot.

You can fry as many corn dogs as you like per batch as long as the temperature of the oil does not drop below 350ºF.

Serve immediately with ketchup and mustard.

This recipe is for one package of hot dogs. Don't forget, I doubled the recipe.

Want mozzarella sticks? Here's the recipe for those:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/fried-mozzarella-sticks-oh-dear/

Corn dog recipe was courtesy of http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/