Perfect Homemade Corn Dogs

If I have one weakness when it comes to "fair food," it would definitely be corn dogs. Oh, wait: I just remembered funnel cakes. So, I guess have two weaknesses. Then there's that lemonade slush...and the spice-roasted almonds...Okay, okay. I have lots of weaknesses when it comes to fair food, but today we're talking about corn dogs.

I've made corn dogs at home one other time, but those, while delicious, didn't hold a candle to this recipe. These corn dogs are absolutely perfect -- crunchy and a little bit sweet, and exactly like the ones they serve at the fair. The boys absolutely loved them, and loved helping me make them too. (They dunked the skewered hot dogs in the batter.)

Because I'm kind of a cheapskate, I didn't use a Dutch oven or similarly large soup pot to fry these bad boys (I don't have a deep fryer). I used a skillet with high sides, still filled pretty full, and I held on to the skewers as I cooked the corn dogs, twisting them constantly to get them evenly-browned. It worked well. So if you don't want to waste nearly as much oil, I recommend that method. 

However you choose to fry them, though, you gotta make these. They're awesome. 

Perfect Homemade Corn Dogs
from Life as a Lofthouse

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
10 hot dogs
10 wooden skewers or chopsticks
2 Quarts Vegetable Oil, for frying

1. In a medium or large pot, add the oil. Turn heat to medium and heat oil to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Then add the beaten egg, milk or buttermilk, oil and honey. Stir until combined. 

3. Remove hot dogs from package. Wipe them all dry with a paper towel (this will help the batter stick to them better). Insert one skewer or wooden stick into each hot dog.

4. Pour the batter into a tall drinking glass. Holding by the skewer, take one hot dog and dunk it into the batter, coating all of the hot dog. Slowly remove from batter and let a little excess batter drip back into the cup. 

5. Immediately place the hot dog into the hot oil, while still holding the stick. Turn as necessary to brown all sides. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until all sides are a deep golden brown. Remove from hot oil and place on paper towels to drain grease. Repeat with all hot dogs.

Mexican Hot Dogs

Frankly (ha ha), I don’t think hot dogs really need to be dressed up. They are what they are, and, charred to perfection and topped with ketchup and mustard, I think they’re pretty much perfect. However, whenever I do get the urge to dress up a hot dog, this is the perfect way to do so. In this recipe they’re wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled jalapenos, onions, and a quick guacamole. They. are. delicious.

As you can see in the picture, my grillmaster husband didn’t quite grill the hot dogs long enough, because the bacon didn’t get nearly as crispy as I would have liked it to. I actually ended up unwrapping the bacon and eating the hot dog without it -- *gasp*. Joe has been instructed to make sure the bacon is crispy the next time we have these. If you’re worried about the same thing happening to you, you could definitely fry the bacon indoors and just lay a strip of it on top of each prepared hot dog.

Next time I’ll add some shredded cheese and salsa, too, which I’ve noted in the recipe below. These may be a little bit more complicated than a standard ketchup-and-mustard dog, but they’re definitely worth the time.

Mexican Hot Dogs
slightly adapted from Coconut and Lime

1 large white onion, sliced
6-8 jalapenos, halved and seeded
4 hot dogs
4 strips thick cut bacon
1 avocado
1 tablespoon sour cream
Juice of 1 lime
Cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheese and salsa for topping, if desired

1. Prepare grill. Lightly oil a grilling pan and arrange the peppers and onions in a single layer. Grill the onions and peppers until softened, flipping occasionally.

2. Wrap the hot dogs in bacon. Secure with toothpicks if needed and place on grill. Grill the hot dogs until the bacon is fully cooked.

3. While hot dogs are cooking, mash avocado. Stir in sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place the hot dogs in buns or rolls and top with toppings.

Dogs in a Blanket

Who doesn’t love a hot dog every now and then? If you’re my two-and-a-half-year-old, you love a hot dog much much more often than just every now and then. He asks for one for lunch or dinner once every couple of weeks or so, and since I really don’t like eating hot dogs all that often, I usually end up making him one while Joe and I eat something else. I really, really hate making two separate meals for dinner -- even if one of the meals takes no more time than nuking a hot dog for a minute or so.

That’s where these delicious, cheesy dogs in a blanket come in. As soon as Jessie posted about them, my mouth started to water -- and that’s not something that happens very often when we’re talking about a plain old hot dog. If a hot dog can be elevated in any way -- well, this is the way, with sautéed onions, tons of cheese, and a garlic-butter-brushed crescent roll “blanket.” When I make this recipe, Andrew definitely isn’t the only one who enjoys hot dogs for dinner.

Dogs in a Blanket
from Mrs. Ca Cooks

Sliced onion
Butter
Minced garlic
Hot dogs
Shredded cheddar cheese
Uncooked crescent rolls

1. Sauté onions in butter until soft and golden. Slice hot dogs down their length (without slicing completely through) and sauté them for a few minutes, just to heat through.

2. Put some onions in the slice, top with shredded cheddar, and wrap each hot dog in a crescent roll.

3. Brush the roll with butter that was melted with a little minced garlic, then bake at temperature recommended on package for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crescent rolls are cooked through.

Summertime Hot Dogs with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

I have been wanting to make this barbecue sauce for probably about a month now. I mentioned this before, but it seems like every time I put this on the menu something happens and we haven't been able to make this dinner. Last night, though, we finally did!

I had high hopes for the sauce, especially considering my luck cooking with soda before, and it definitely did not disappoint. I love Dr. Pepper but I’m trying not to drink it very much since I'm pregnant, so this was the perfect way to indulge. The Dr. Pepper adds wonderful sweetness and a perfect molasses undertone to the sauce.

The recipe calls for the sauce to be pureed, but I skipped that step simply because it didn't bother me to have chunks of onion and garlic in my sauce. I topped my hot dogs with chopped pickles as Better Homes and Gardens suggested, and it was definitely delicious. We have a ton of sauce left over, which I can't wait to use to feed my barbecue cravings later in the week. We ate this with sweet corn on the cob (the first of the season), and it was the perfect summer supper.

Summertime Hot Dogs with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce
source: Better Homes and Gardens

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 12-ounce can Dr Pepper
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 hot dogs
8 hot dog buns
Optional toppers: pickles, sliced jalapeño peppers, chopped onion

1. For sauce, in medium saucepan cook and stir onion and garlic in hot butter over medium heat about 10 minutes until onions are tender. Add all ingredients except hot dogs, buns, and toppers. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Cook, uncovered, until sauce begins to thicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool sauce 10 minutes.

2. Puree sauce in pan with immersion blender, or transfer to a blender jar, cover, and blend until smooth. (I skipped this step.)

3. Meanwhile, on grill cook hot dogs on rack directly over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot dogs on buns with toppers.

"Ohio Style" Corn Dogs

I made homemade corn dogs for dinner last night. Oh yes I did. And they were delicious -- much better than anything from a box, and just as good as the corn dogs at the fair. I served them with tater tots. I felt like I was 12 years old.

But I didn't really care, because they were so good. And they were very, very easy. I don't think I'll ever feed Andrew frozen ones when making them from scratch is so simple! I don't know what exactly it is that makes them "Ohio style," but that's what the recipe said. And this is a cookbook full of recipes written by grandmas, and grandmas are never wrong! (They certainly weren't wrong about these corn dogs. Very, very tasty, no matter what state they were from!)

"Ohio Style" Corn Dogs

Source: A Taste from Grandma's Kitchen

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1 egg, beaten

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Dash of pepper

10 to 16 hot dogs (we used 5 bun-length hot dogs, and had just a little bit of batter left over)

Wooden skewers

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1. In a bowl, mix first ten ingredients. Pour mixture into a tall glass.

2. Skewer hot dogs with wooden skewers; dip in mixture. Deep fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.