I used to make these using pancake mix. But I was able to buy yellow cornmeal recently and I decided to make some corn dogs the traditional way. I searched for corn dog recipes online, found one at the Food Network, tried it and, oh boy, what a disaster. Not only did the cream style corn make the batter too lumpy, the batter wouldn’t even stick to the hotdogs. Enough celebrity recipes. I went back to the basics and created my own batter. The results were much, much better.
It is really best to use regular sized hotdogs for this recipe so that they get heated through in the short time that they are submerged in the hot cooking oil. Of course, jumbo hotdogs are not only more filling, they are more exciting as well. Your choice, really. If you plan on cooking corn dogs for a lot of kids, regular sized hotdogs will turn out cheaper. In terms of quantity, one kilo of regular sized hotdogs will yield much more than a kilo of jumbo hotdogs.
Ingredients :
8 regular or jumbo hotdogs
3/4 c. of flour
3/4 c. of yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. of white sugar
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1 egg
3/4 c. of milk
a pinch of salt
1 to 1-1/2 liters of vegetable cooking oil
8 bamboo skewers
Cooking procedure :
First, a note about the cooking oil. The exact amount you will need depends on the cooking pan you’re going to use. I suggest a small sauce pan which when about three-fourths full of cooking oil will allow the batter-coated hotdog to be submerged in oil in a diagonal position. My father used to cook corn dogs in an empty tall can of pineapple juice but I find the size and shape too accident prone. One wrong move and… you get the picture. So, I stick to sauce pans.
The hotdogs must be thoroughly thawed and THOROUGHLY DRIED. Pat them with paper towels, squeezing lightly to get rid of any surface liquid. Don’t squeeze too tightly though because you might squeeze all the juices out and you really don’t want that.
Start heating the cooking oil while you prepare the batter.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg, sugar and milk together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour, baking powder salt and yellow cornmeal. Stir just until blended.
Thread the hotdogs on the bamboo skewers.
To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small amount of batter into the oil. If it floats within seconds, the oil is hot enough. If it floats and browns immediately, the oil is too hot. Turn off the heat for 3 minutes then turn on the stove again at a slightly lower setting.
Warning: You will have to cook the corn dogs one by one. That might sound labor intensive but when you see the kids smiling from ear to ear, well, that kinda makes up for all the hard work.
Dip each hotdog in the batter, rolling it to create an even coating. Working fast (the batter drips off very quickly), lower the batter coated hotdog into the hot oil. Use the bamboo skewer to turn the hotdog in oil for even browning. The batter will cook and brown in about two minutes so you’ll really have to watch it.
As each corn dog cooks, remove from the oil and roll lightly on a stack of paper towels.
Corn dogs are best eaten hot when the outside is crisp. You can keep them in the fridge and reheat them in the OVEN (not in more oil) but the outside won’t be crisp anymore.
yummy!!! hindi na ko ‘kid’ pero favorite ko po ito… one question lang ms. connie, bakit po sya nasa advanced cook category? sounds easy to me… so ibig sabihin… advance cook na ko!!! let’s celebrate!
one of the downsides of being in uk, walang proper hotdogs dito… as in nakagisnan kong hotdog ng purefoods, red tender and juicy.. hehe.. im sure if i make this corndogs, it wont taste the same. the only sausage i can buy here are frankfurters and theyre a horrible brown color.. lol.. smoked pa.. anyways.. the pic looks yummy.. i miss this food!!!
Joy0918, actually, it’s not that simple. Getting the right temperature, getting the batter to stick to the hotdogs, making sure that the batter coating is even… takes some practice.
Gigi, frankfurters are great too! In fact, I prefer non-colored hotdogs. Kaya lang, I just asked my hubby to pass by the supermarket for the hotdogs and forgot to specify that he get the light brown chicken hotdogs.
oh wow! that’s great news! a new recipe for my adopted nephews and nieces here.. hehe.. looks like am trying this out on christmas day, kung hindi man, probably in one of our week long gatherings this christmas week… thanks po!!!!
ganun po ba? di bale.. i-try ko pa rin this weekend… baka sakaling matsambahan ko… goodluck sa ‘kin..
sa sarap naman nito!! where can i buy the yellow cornmeal? thanks
Good luck, Joy1918! Patience lang yan.
Elizabeth, The Landmark at TriNoma.
finally,a true-blue corndog!LOLZ…i’ve been looking around for this recipe coz i found using hotcake mix too fancy.
one question though,i plan to serve corn dogs for my daughter’s birthday,how do i adjust the volume of the batter to fit uhm like 30 pcs of hotdogs?do ijust double or triple everything?will i not sabotage the consistency of the batter?
thank you so much ms. connie,you’re heaven sent!
is there any alternatives to yellow cornmeal?
no, jen, there isn’t.
hi ms connie! i went to landmark trinoma to look for albers which you wrote not too long ago. but i was given albers grits something (didn’t catch the whole name) found in the baking section. is grits different from the yellow cornmeal you mentioned? because i was really looking for the word cornmeal in it. they didn’t carry any other albers variety, just that grits. please help! thanks a lot!
ellen, grits are also cornmeal but a coarser variety.
Made this the other day, it was so yummy! I added salt and pepper to the remaining batter and used it to make onion rings. Really good!
Thanks Connie!
My kids really love corn dogs. I prefer using Chicken Hotdogs as they are more tasty and serve them with Mayo, Grated Cheese, Pickles, Catsup and Mustard. Hmmm, sarap!
hi, i want i’m just wondering, where can we buy corn meal? the more popular supermarkets don’t have them..thanks
You might just be looking in the wrong sections. LAndmark and Unimart have corn meal most of the time. Unimart especially.
Ms Connie, what happens if more than one corndog is cooked at the same time even if the saucepan is big enough?
The temperature of the oil will drop too much and the bread will be too greasy. Unless you don’t add them to the oil at the same time to allow the heat to build up.
How did you cook it using a pancake mix?
There were instructions printed at the back of the box.