The Crispy corn dogs are battered fried hot dogs, typical of American street food, which claims their invention and history. Their origin dates back to the post-World War I period, around the 1920s, when some German soldiers arrived at a Texas base bringing wurstel to America.
There are many variations of this recipe, depending on the country or continent. However, a common denominator remains: the wooden skewer that makes these wurstel one of the most famous street foods in the world! In the American version, these crispy dogs are wurstel that are breaded with corn flour, skewered, hence the name “walkable hot dogs”. There are many variations, such as the Korean “Gamja-hotdog”, where the wurstel are breaded with French fries.
In the following recipe, we will use the perfect batter for crunchy and dry fries, which we saw a few weeks ago, and the Japanese panko bread, which allows us to fry in a healthier and lighter way, achieving an irresistible crunch effect! Panko bread is a typical breadcrumb used in Japan. It appears as soft and white flakes because it is made from white bread without crust.
Below you will find the recipes just mentioned and other preparations to fry! Each link is clickable and will take you to the recipe you choose to read here on my cooking blog. Remember that I wait for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea for the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment for the whole community to start the day with a sweet or savory treat!
Let’s now proceed to prepare the American corn dogs, a different way to enjoy hot dogs served with a Greek yogurt and mustard sauce. Crunchy and delicious, they are ideal for impressing friends or the little ones!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter and Spring, All seasons
- Energy 2,587.70 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 48.13 (g) of which sugars 2.40 (g)
- Proteins 16.69 (g)
- Fat 264.08 (g) of which saturated 39.47 (g)of which unsaturated 215.28 (g)
- Fibers 5.99 (g)
- Sodium 662.42 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to prepare crispy corn dogs
- 4 hot dogs
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 1/4 cups flour (perfectly sifted)
- 1/2 cup sparkling water (very cold from refrigerator)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups panko (homemade with my recipe)
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 quart vegetable oil (for frying)
Bea’s Tip: I recommend using large, high-quality hot dogs for this recipe. Remember to keep them at room temperature for about 30 minutes, so that the surface of each hot dog is dry, ready to be dipped in the batter. I used servelade hot dogs weighing 200 grams. You can easily find Recla hot dogs at the supermarket or online, they are delicious, I assure you.
Tools for preparing crispy corn dog fried crunchy with panko bread
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Scale
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Pot
- 1 Skimmer
- 1 Tray
- Paper towels
- 4 Skewers
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Teaspoon
To prepare homemade panko bread you will need: a cutting board, a knife without serration, a kitchen robot, a baking sheet, an oven with grill mode. You will need to prepare it about 30 minutes before use for this recipe, so that it is completely cold. You can find the step-by-step procedure here on my blog. Panko recipe: homemade panko for crunchy fries.
The batter should be prepared at least an hour before use, according to the American recipe for crispy corn dogs. Americans prepare the batter with corn flour and store it in the refrigerator in jars. Then they skewer the wurstel, previously kept at room temperature, so that the outside is completely dry, and dip them in the batter using the wooden skewer.
Bea’s Tip: if you haven’t yet purchased a frying pot, I recommend this one, which you can find by clicking the blue link. It’s not very large, 24 cm, but it’s perfect!
Steps for the crispy corn dog recipe: crunchy and delicious fried hot dogs
We start the preparation of the batter. Take a high-sided bowl, crack the whole egg inside at room temperature and add a pinch of salt. Finely sift the flour, you can do this directly into the bowl. Then, in a thin stream, add the very cold sparkling water from the refrigerator, starting to mix everything with the whisk. We should obtain a smooth and lump-free cream. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
While the batter is in the fridge, place the hot dogs on a plate and leave them on the kitchen counter at room temperature, so that the outside of the servelade hot dogs can dry. If you don’t have panko bread available, you can prepare it about 30 minutes in advance, so you can use homemade instead of packaged.
We can then proceed. Get a frying pot and pour the vegetable oil or frying oil into it. As always, I recommend choosing an oil with the highest smoke point indicated on the label. This is to avoid bad odors and achieve a perfect frying!
Take the bowl with the batter from the fridge and place it on the work surface. Skewer each hot dog with a rigid wooden skewer (I have noted a type in the list of useful tools) and dip each one separately into the batter. Roll it in a plate with Japanese panko bread for a crispy and crunchy coating, typical of these corn dogs, and finally dip the hot dogs in the oil, which should have reached a temperature of about 340°F.
Drain them and let them cool on a tray covered with kitchen paper. In the meantime, prepare the mustard and yogurt sauce. Take a small bowl and pour two teaspoons of Greek yogurt and a tablespoon of mustard into it. Mix the cream and serve it with the ready crispy corn dogs.
All that remains is to wish you bon appétit and remind you that I look forward to seeing you every day on my cooking blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and recipe variations:
Storing crispy corn dogs: we can store the walkable fried hot dogs in a container with a lid for a maximum of one or two days. Of course, they should not have been dipped in the sauce. To enjoy them again and retain the typical crispy texture of the fried hot dogs, we can heat them using the oven with grill mode at 356-374°F.
Variations of the walkable hot dog recipe: as already indicated, there are many variations of this recipe. The classic American recipe uses corn flour to make the batter. The Koreans use French fries for the outer coating. Then there is the version with breadcrumbs and many more to discover.
Variations or additions to the mustard sauce: you can add some honey and a splash of lemon juice to enhance the flavor of the cream and, consequently, also of the corn dogs.
Other variations: you can add a pinch of yeast to the batter, this will give it more body. During cooking, the batter will puff up a little. In many batter recipes for frying, in fact, the egg is not added, but only cold sparkling water and yeast are used. I have not tried it, but I write it here because maybe you who are reading this already prepare it this way. The yeast, of course, should not be vanilla-flavored, otherwise you will smell vanilla. There is also a version of batter with cold milk. I have not tested this either, so I am writing it here for your knowledge.
