Corn dogs are a great way to make hot dogs even more tasty and less healthy. Truly an American food, corndogs are a Christmas tradition in my house! Make sure to have plenty of cold beer and skewer-proof helmets on hand for a party that will last way longer than you intended and a house full of drunks having way more “fun” than they should be allowed by Uncle Sam.
And be patient. There’s a little learning curve around battering the hot dogs. The first couple you do might look funny but you’ll get better, and they still taste good!
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup cream-style corn
- ⅓ cup finely grated onion
- 1 cup buttermilk (plus a teeny bit more if needed)
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch, for dredging
- Hot dogs (should be enough batter for 14 corny dogs)
- Shortening or peanut oil to fry
- Wooden skewers
- Combine dry ingredients in a big bowl (not including cornstarch).
- Whisk together wet ingredients (not including frying oil).
- Add wet to dry and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes while your oil heats up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, skewer hot dogs and roll in cornstarch to lightly coat.
- When your oil is hot, batter up your hot dogs (now is when you should add a little more buttermilk if it seems too thick to dip into) and fry for about 2 minutes until brown and crunchy and they’ll be lumpy, too, so just… be ready to love them for their imperfections.
- Drain on paper for a minute and then eat with your favorite combination of mustard, cock sauce, ketchup, or whatever.
Dip these in tartar sauce for a preposterously good bite. And if you have hotdogs leftover after your party, try these Sonoran Hotdogs!
Photo by: Robotclaw
The LEARN TO COOK Book is Here!
By popular demand, Learn to Cook is now available in print! Over 300 pages of knowledge between two soft covers.
Learn To Cook is designed to get you cooking for yourself like a civilized human being! Drawing from a lifetime of cooking and over two years experience making instructional cooking videos, author Hilah Johnson has produced a beginners’ cookbook for today’s young adults. The casual, straightforward style will appeal to anyone with a sense of humor and the focus on fresh, simple recipes will appeal to anyone who loves to eat. The book includes chapters on menu planning, knife skills, grocery shopping and more, plus a comprehensive spice chart and over 150 recipes from breakfast to dinner to snacks in between.
I create short-form, educational, and occasionally hilarious cooking videos geared towards beginner and intermediate cooks, as well as people who are just looking for simple, low-cost recipes. Everything is made from scratch, people!
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
I'm a big fan! After I watch your videos I talk in funny voices for at least 10 minutes…this would annoy my husband except he likes your videos too!:)
ps. the lumpy corn dogs look super yummy!
Hi Nicole! I'm glad you and your husband like the show. I am always interested to meet people that don't find my funny voices annoying.
hi hilah im australian and i tried the corn dogs and it was great!!
i think your really funny and when i need a recipe i rely on you good job!!!!
LOVE TABY
Hi Taby! Thank you so much!
I’m glad you’re cooking!
Mmmmm, this delicious episode complicates my recent decision to eat far more veggies than meatsies. Why, God? Why?
What ever should I do?
Please note: corn is a vegetable.
I love corn dogs and lemonade! Anything with buttermilk in it – I will try!
I like straight buttermilk, too!
Hey Hilah, i loved ur webiste, i am from egypt and we dont really do these corn dogs here, but i loved it, will try it tonight…
u r super sweet, not like those old women doing some old recipes.. hehe.
thank u
Haha! Thank you! How did you find out about the show? Just curious. Thanks for writing!
I was checking the cooking videos on youtube and u were the 1st to pop up.. and i felt like, she looks young, and am sure she will do some nice recipes…
we have a very nice tv channel for the middle east, that is onlyfor cooking, why dont u put your episodes there..
http://www.fatafeat.com
That’s cool! I’ll check it out! Thanks.
this is the best cheap party food i’ve ever eaten. you could vary this by adding finely chopped jalapeno’s to the batter if you wanted.
Mmm. Jalapenos.
hi Hilah,
I made the corn dogs for my family today… I was having trouble getting the mix to stick to the corn dog. So by the time I got them to the fryer it was just hotdog. Do you have any tips on how to get the mix to stick better???
Hi Olivia!
I’m sorry you had trouble. I’ve found it’s very important to dredge the dogs in cornstarch before dipping, and then use a spoon to lift the batter onto the dogs, rather than try to literally dip them or roll them in it. Let me know if that helps!
Thanks for the quick response…. I did spoon the batter maybe I didn’t use enough cornstarch… I will try again next week. My family cannot eat that much fried food in the same week. Oh I also tried your flour tortilla recipe and it was a big hit.
I’m glad the tortillas worked! I hope the corndogs go better next time.
Hi my name is paula and im spanish some of my family is british and some of it is from california but ive lived nearly all my life in spain and i adoreeee your videos because my cousen send me food from america but it is really expensive and hard soo thankssss so hard for the videos your great!!
Hola Paula!
Gracias para escribir! I’m so glad you like the recipes and are able to make them.
Hey today I went to the fair and ate a corndog that looked beatiful but tasted horrible! While your recipe is totally delicious! Moral of the story: Don’t let pretty corndogs trick you! Lumpy ones are better! Haha ok, too much stalking for a day! Take care
It’s true! Those pretty ones at the fair are too sweet for me. Still, I do wish I could get homemade ones to look a teeny bit prettier.
I never tried corn dogs because I felt my equipment wasn’t big enough. You’re only supposed to put 2 inches of oil in the slightly less than 7 inch deep Fry Daddy used. I know she lost the instructions but there’s a line on the inside of the fryer at 2″. Hilah wants 6″, angled properly equivalent to the 7 or 8 that she needs. I’ve never had the balls to try this. But if she can do it so can I. If you don’t hear from me again it’s because I was horribly disfigured by scalding lard (and loving it!).
Yeah, it’s not quite safety standard, but as long as you don’t try to put more than one (okay, maybe two) in there at a time, I’ve not had it spill over. That said, probably the safest way to do it would just be to get a large pot and a thermometer.
Now you got me all worried about you. Be careful!!!
Don’t worry about me. Worry about the guy National Presto Industries’ attorney had in mind when he/approved the directions. Seriously, that is a friend of mine’s job! I just bought a Fry Daddy and was surprised at the 2″ fill line and have no intention of obeying the limit. Still have yet to use it. Thanks for letting me know what I can do. The Daddy is 5.25 inches deep and averages 6.5 wide. Froze on the hot oil in the video and I think you’re an inch and a half down at 3.75 giving a diagonal immersion length of 7 (that innuendo was NOT intended, but only because I spotted it after the fact). DO DEEP FRIED ARTICHOKE HEARTS, pretty please…
Ahaha! Just for that innuendo, deep fried artichoke hearts are on the list. I admit, I’ve never had them but it sounds like a perfect match for some fresh lemon wedges and a super-duper cold beer.
I’m from Kuwait and I liked ur recipe I’m just waiting my mom to bring the corn cream style and I’ll do it ,, I hope making it perfect from the first time
Have fun, Rawan! Hope they turn out well your first time.
They’re killer. There used to be this big campus open house/food fair at my college. One club/group did them. They were much cheaper then. Today they’re $15 for a big can of 40-50 or 30-40 cents apiece at the Fart and Smile.
Cool! I mentioned it to Chris and he said “artichokes and mushrooms at the same time!” so I think that’s what we’ll do. It’s gonna be good!
I forgot to mention this; packed in water, not marinated. I hate to have anyone reading to make a disastrous mistake.
Phew!
I REALLY LOVE YOUR SHOW
YOU’RE SO FUNNY
THANKS FOR SHARING THE RECIPES
Thank you, Kylie! That makes me very happy to hear.
hi Hilah i was just woundering do u come out in tv or no let me know ok bye…
and God Bless You
Hey Hilah! I’m from Thailand and I just saw your videos on youtube today. Most of your videos inspire me a lot and the corn dogs looks so great that I can’t wait to try it
. I’m wondering about the batter, what should I do if there’s some of them left? What wold you prefer me to do with it, without trowing away? thanks 
Hi Kair! I’m glad you found me!
You can use this batter to dip and fry anything you like and leftover batter will stay fine in the refrigerator for two days. Someone told me you can even freeze it for later use, though I have not tried that myself.
Thanks for writing! Hope you like them.
hi Hilah!
First if all, I like your name. Secondly, I’m from Malaysia and last but not least, I enjoyed your cooking videos! Tried your corndog recipe and its really good. Glad I found you and will continue to watch your videos and learn from you~.