Deep Fried Corn Dogs

Deep Fried Corn Dogs

 The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

These corn dogs are wrapped in cornmeal batter and deep fried. Use standard-sized hot dogs, cocktail wieners, or Lit'l Smokies smoked sausages for this recipe.

It's unclear when the very first corn dog was created, but there was a patent granted on a deep-frying appliance for dipping, cooking and holding wieners and other foods. there is also mention of a Krusty Korn Dog Baker in a 1929 restaurant and hotel supply catalog. 

Neil and Carl Fletcher of Dallas, Texas, sold "Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dog" from a stand at the State Fair of Texas. According to a 1983 New York Times article, the brothers had heard of a someone using a mold to put actual cornbread around a wiener, but it was a slow process, taking 20 minutes to cook. That's when they worked on and perfected a cornmeal batter. Their creation took about 60 tries to get it "right," and they made many improvements over the course of 12 years.

According to Mr. Fletcher, the "secret" batter is made with cornmeal, flour, leavening agents, ice water, salt, sugar, and six other ingredients. 

Our version is made with equal parts cornmeal and flour, some sugar, eggs, milk, and seasonings.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 3 to 4 cups oil or shortening, for deep-frying

  • 1 pound hot dogs, or use cocktail hot dogs

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Deep Fried Corn Dogs ingredients

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chili powder; whisk or stir dry mixture to blend thoroughly.

    combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and chili powder in a bowl

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  3. In another bowl, beat eggs with milk and 1/4 cup of oil. Stir egg and milk mixture into dry ingredients and continue whisking until batter is smooth.

    seasoned batter in a bowl

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  4. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 360 F. Or fill a deep, heavy saucepan about half full with vegetable oil and attach a deep-frying thermometer to side of pan to gauge temperature.

    pot with oil

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  5. Insert a wooden skewer or popsicle stick into each hot dog to make a "handle" for hot dogs.

    hot dogs with wooden skewers

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  6. Holding stick or skewer, dip each hot dog into batter, turning to coat thoroughly and evenly.

    hot dog dipped into batter

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  7. Fry corn dogs in 2 or 3 batches, for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

    corn dogs frying in oil

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

  8. Drain on paper towels or heavy brown paper.

    Deep Fried Corn Dogs on paper towels

     The Spruce / Abbey Littlejohn

 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
562 Calories
45g Fat
29g Carbs
12g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 562
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 45g 57%
Saturated Fat 9g 46%
Cholesterol 82mg 27%
Sodium 875mg 38%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 11%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 156mg 12%
Iron 2mg 14%
Potassium 274mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)