Estate Dinners
Corn Dogs
The Strategy:
To guarantee that perfect golden crunch, prepare your thick, pancake-like batter and set up your tall dipping glass just before you're ready to fry, ensuring fresh, warm results for your guests. This homemade marvel delivers an exquisite balance of a crisp, savory shell and a tender, juicy center, a delightful sensory experience far superior to any store-bought version. Present these nostalgic corn dogs warm and fresh on their sticks, inviting guests to customize their culinary journey with a colorful array of dipping sauces.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fine yellow cornmeal
- ½ to 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
- 4 to 6 hot dogs
- canola oil for frying
- mustard
- maple syrup
- skewers
Instructions
- Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a second bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter should be like pancake batter: thick enough to coat the hot dog and not too gloppy.
- Heat canola oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350°.
- Take a skewer and slide it ¾ of the way into the center of a hot dog so that most of the skewer is in the dog, but there is enough showing to hold on to. Continue until all the dogs are skewered.
- Pour some of the batter into a tall glass or paper cup. The glass (or cup) should be taller than the hot dog.
- When the oil is ready, hold one hot dog by the end of the skewer and swirl it around in the batter in the glass to coat evenly. Carefully place the dog into the hot oil. Cook until the outside of the corn dog is golden brown, using tongs to turn the dog to cook evenly, about 3 minutes.
- Use tongs to remove the corn dogs to a rack set over paper towels to cool slightly.
- Drizzle each corn dog with mustard and then maple syrup.
Thing to Note:
Frying is a great way to turn food into something crunchy, hot, and satisfying. But it takes a little know-how to fry with confidence.
First, choose a container\u2014to hold the oil\u2014that works for the food. In this case, we\u2019re going to choose a deep pot or Dutch oven on your stovetop because we\u2019re going to lay the corn dogs into the oil.
Second, do not overfill the container. When the food enters hot oil, the oil will bubble up, and you need to have room in the pot to handle those bubbles. So only fill the pot 2 or 3 inches up the sides and never more than halfway.
Use a candy thermometer to make sure the oil is the correct temperature. This thermometer will clip to the side of the pot so you can easily see what the temperature is and check it while you cook.
Slowly place the food into the oil. For corn dogs, tip the top of the corn dog into the oil for a few seconds and then slip the whole dog into the oil. NEVER drop food into hot oil. It will splash up and burn you. Not good!
Use long tongs to turn the food around in the oil and to remove food from the oil. Make sure that you have a place to transfer the hot food to. In this case, we transfer the corn dogs to a rack set over paper towels.
The full recipe lives in the Vault
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The Heart of the Table
There is an undeniable, childlike joy that comes from eating food off a stick, especially when that food is a freshly fried, golden corn dog. Taking the time to make something from scratch that is usually relegated to a frozen box or a carnival stand is an act of unexpected, playful hospitality. It disarms your guests, immediately transporting them back to carefree summer afternoons, and creates an environment where everyone feels encouraged to let down their guard, laugh a little louder, and connect authentically.
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Arrange the freshly fried corn dogs on a large, heavy wooden board, crossing the wooden sticks to create a beautifully rustic, abundant pile. Serve them alongside small, heavy ceramic bowls filled with high-quality, artisanal mustards and warm, pure maple syrup for dipping.
- THE POUR: A dry, crisp apple cider or a bright, bubbly prosecco. The sharp effervescence and bright fruit notes perfectly cut through the heavy richness of the fried cornmeal batter and the savory smoke of the hot dog.
- THE VIBE: Playful, nostalgic, and incredibly relaxed. This is a wonderfully unexpected main course for an outdoor twilight gathering, turning a simple dinner into a memorable, joy-filled event.
