Corn Dogs

[kirra]

Corn Dogs

Ingredients:

2/3 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 pound hot dogs
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
8 sticks

Preparation:

Preheat deep-frying oil to 365 degrees. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add milk and cooking oil, mix well. Add egg. Dry the hot dogs; insert sticks and dip in corn dog mixture. Cook in hot oil until golden brown.

You can use any kind of hot dog, from ballpark franks to Polish sausage, and batters vary even more - there are cornmeal batters, pancake batters, flour-based batters, smooth batters and chunky batters. It's important to evenly coat the dog, otherwise you'll get parts that are too well done and parts that are still raw dough. To minimize dripping and uneven coating, hold the dog vertically during its trip from batter to oil. If your oil isn't hot enough, the batter will fall off the dog.

For even cooking, either roll the dog regularly, or clamp the sticks to a board or pipe laid over the vat of oil to keep the dog fully submerged during cooking. It takes 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for a corn dog to cook, and it's done when it's a medium golden brown.

Note: The same battering and frying technique can be applied to other foods, Barnes said, from mozzarella sticks to zucchini. If you're adventurous, try fried pickles, Twinkies or Snickers bars.