Making Corn Dogs at Home Tonight

When you and your kids go to the local fair or carnival do you make a dash for the corn dogs? If you enjoy these then why not try making them at home as well?

You will need a deep-frying/candy thermometer and a tall, narrow container or drinking glass, such as a pint glass, for this recipe. As well, you will need candy-apple craft sticks to skewer the hot dogs with. You can usually find them in the produce section of your local grocery store.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
• 8 candy-apple craft sticks
• 8 (2-ounce) hot dogs
• 1 cup fine or medium-ground yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Ketchup, for dipping
• Spicy Yellow Mustard for dipping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet; set aside.
3. Pour the oil into a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
4. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil temperature reaches 360°F on a deep-frying/candy thermometer.
5. Meanwhile, insert a craft stick lengthwise into each hot dog (try to keep the stick aligned in the center of the hot dog), leaving about 2 inches of the stick exposed at the bottom; set aside.
6. When the oil is almost ready (about 325°F), whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
7. Whisk the milk, eggs, honey, and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth and the sugar has dissolved.
8. Add the cornmeal mixture to the milk mixture and stir with a rubber spatula just until a smooth batter forms.
9. Pour some of the batter into a tall, narrow container or drinking glass, leaving 1 inch of room at the top.
10. When the oil is ready, evenly dip a hot dog into the glass of batter by holding the stick and rotating the hot dog as needed until it’s completely covered with batter.
11. Immediately place into the hot oil. Repeat with a second hot dog.
12. Fry, turning occasionally, until light golden brown all over, about 3 minutes.
13. Using tongs, transfer the corn dogs to the wire rack on the baking sheet and place in the oven.
14. Repeat with the remaining hot dogs, working with 2 at a time, refilling the glass with batter as needed, and letting the oil return to 360°F between batches. (When you reach the last 2 hot dogs, you may need to tilt the glass sideways while rotating the dogs to coat them evenly with batter.)
15. Serve immediately with ketchup and mustard for dipping.