Deep-fried anything is the epitome of fairground food. These hand-held crispy and sweet State Fair Corn Dogs are the founding father of the state fair food-on-a-stick craze!
Summertime brings on memories of fun times at theme parks and fairs. Of course, for me, the memories are mostly of the delicious tastes and smells that hang in the air. Smells of buttery popcorn, sweet funnel cakes, smoked turkey legs, blooming onions, and my favorite, the state fair corn dog – or corny dog when I was growing up. I mean, it’s the forefather or grandaddy of the food-on-a-stick craze, right?! It’s crazy what you can get deep-fried and on a stick at a state fair! We’re talking apple pie, brownies, deep-fried Snickers, deep-fried Twinkies – all on-a-stick!
The sweet, crispy crust of the cornbread wrapped around an all-beef frank is one of my guilty pleasures. So, since I’m not headed to a fair that I know of anytime soon, I decided to whip up a batch of flavorful memories at home. They really turned out great and tasted very similar to the ones I’ve had at the fair. I hope you enjoy!
It’s important to skewer the franks at least 2/3 of the way up to support them well. Also, make sure to use a clean paper towel and blot off any excess moisture so that the batter will stick to the frank.
Initially, I floured the hot dog after blotting but found that I didn’t really need to do that step. Just make sure to tilt the jar and roll the frank back and forth to get it thoroughly coated.
Fry two or three at a time in the preheated oil. A deep fryer is great for this, but if you don’t have one a heavy bottomed skillet, like an iron skillet works fine.
Using tongs, carefully turn the corn dog occasionally to get even browning.
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Homemade State Fair Corn Dogs
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
- 2 16 ounce packages beef frankfurters
- 16 wooden skewers
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and honey. Mix until smooth.
- Pour batter into a tall mason jar or large glass; set aside.
- Preheat 3 inches of vegetable or peanut oil in a deep heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat to 350 degrees.
- Skewer hot dogs by inserting the sticks halfway up the center of the hot dog.
- Using a clean paper towel, blot the excess moisture from the hot dogs to dry them slightly.
- Dip the skewered hot dogs into the batter, tilting the glass and rolling the hot dog skewer back and forth to coat completely. Gently place into the hot grease.
- Fry 2 or 3 corn dogs at a time until lightly browned, turning occasionally, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Serve warm with yellow mustard and ketchup.
I am passionate about good food, cooking for family and friends, and creating recipes that form lasting memories from one generation to the next. I hope you find inspiration for cooking and creating here!
Where does the honey come into play?
And the directions mention pepper.. but pepper isn’t in the ingredients list.
Hi Melanie! My apologies…I just updated the recipe, so everything should be in order now. Thanks for stopping by!
They look really sweet & yummy! I used to love the crndogs from the fair I hope these taste as good!
Just fried some corn dogs and mmm are they good.Thank You Jennifer
You’re welcome! Glad you liked them.
What can you do with the left over batter
Hi Carrie! Well, I’ve never tried anything with the leftover batter but I have some thoughts…you could pour it into a greased pan and bake it like cornbread. You could make a casserole with taco meat on the bottom and top it with the corndog batter and bake it. Those are my initial thoughts. Let me know how you end up using it!
The corn meal mixture didn’t stay on the franks.. is there a difference because of being franks?
You might try patting them dry with clean paper towels.
Is it possible to replace the white sugar with Honey?
I think honey would be fine and add great flavor.
Fantastic recipe, came out great was a big hit for New Years Eve!! Thanks Jennifer 🙂