Many people have childhood memories of State fair’s, the rides, sounds and off course lining up for the smorgasbord of carnival delicacies. Since the 1940’s one deep-fried delight continues to be a must do purchase for most people attending a fair, the simple but overly addictive corn dog.
As mentioned, corn dogs have been around for more or less around a hundred years and several food places have made their claims of being the original house of corn dogs. From the Texas State Fair, to the small shop in Portland, Oregon and the patent filed in 1927 to make a food product almost strikingly similar to a corndog, everyone wanted to be the original founder of the dish.
In 1926, the “Krusty Korn Dog” machine appeared in a wholesale catalog of a restaurant supplies. The machine were made to bake “korn dogs” which were coated in corn batter and resembled corn ears, ergo the term Corn Dogs. This dish is famous not only for its simplicity, but also because of the ease of its preparation.
Hotdogs on a stick covered in a crispy corn meal batter. Crispy golden on the outside with a steamy soft cake inner and don’t forget the juicy hotdog that is the bonus inside.. A perfect combination of sweet and savory, topped with mustard and or ketchup.
Commercial frozen corn dogs are available in your grocery store’s frozen aisle. But the frozen, and mass-produced corn dogs can be laden with salt, sugar, and usually deep-fried, making it an unhealthy snack for your family. The most common method of preparing corn dogs is by deep-frying them. In some cases, vendors even half fry them and then refry them to a crispy, golden corn dog just before serving. This is usually what is done in fairs and carnivals. There have been several variations of corn dogs where the batter is added with other kinds of textures to improve the complexity of the dish. In Korea, the batter can be encrusted with French fries, whereas in Australia, there are varieties which use wheat-based batters.
Variations on the types of hot dogs used for this dish are also available. Usually in fairs, there will be more than just one variety. In some parts of the world, people use bratwurst which is a type of sausage made of veal, beef, or pork. Others also combine cheese and hot dogs or use cheese-filled hot dogs as fillings. A variation made for breakfast uses pancake batter instead of the corn meal. Corn dogs are so popular, there is even an annual celebration dedicated to it. National Corn dog Day is the first celebration of the March madness of the NCAA Men’s Basketball every year.
Homemade corn dogs cooked in an Air Fryer is a fun and healthy alternative to having corn dogs all year long to enjoy! If you are worried how are we going to use an air fryer to cook a corn dog which uses a batter, the answer is a parchment paper! Lightly coating the thin film allows the hot air to still pass through and let the air circulate to evenly cook the corn dogs.
This recipe combines all that makes a classic fair corn dog so good, without deep frying them. Now we could cheat and just crumb the corndog and place it in the air fryer, but when did you eat a crumbed corndog at a fair? No, this recipe will use all the standard ingredients your favorite corn dog vendor uses, without the fat of a deep-fried corndog. Once you try this easy and tasty recipe, you will never buy frozen corn dogs again. In fact, this recipe can even be used for coatings with additional ingredients such as French fries and the like!
Air Fryer Corn Dogs
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: EasyIngredients
- Dry Ingredients
1 cup of Fine yellow corn meal
1 cup Self Raising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
- Wet Ingredients
1 large egg
1 cup of buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter melted
- Others
10 beef hot dogs
10 wooden skewers
100g of corn starch
Directions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 190°C.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl stir together making sure all dry ingredients are mixed together evenly.
- In a small mixing bowl, crack in one egg and combine in the buttermilk. Once combined add the melted butter and whisk to combine.
- Make a crater in the flour mix, and slowly add the wet ingredients to the bowl, using a wooden spoon mix well making sure there are no lumps and the mixture is well combined. Let the batter rest for ten minutes and mix again. Then rest for another 10 minutes before using.
- In one end of the hotdog, Insert the wooden skewers. Leave one-third of the stick exposed to use as a handle to eat the corn dog when cooked.
- Use a paper towel to pat each hot dog dry. Put the corn starch onto a plate, and roll each hotdog in the cornstarch making sure to fully coat each hotdog. Tap each hotdog to remove any excess flour.
- To easily coat each hotdog with the corn batter, transfer the corn batter into a tall glass, or even a one-liter drink bottle with the top cut off. This will make it easier to dip the hotdogs into the batter, giving a uniform coating without making a mess.
- Remove the Air Fryer basket and line it with perforated parchment paper to suit your fryer. Using a healthy oil like avocado oil lightly spray the parchment paper to give a light coating of oil.
- To Cook – dip each hotdog into the batter, fully coating the hotdog. Do in two batches so as not to overcrowd the air fryer. Place each coated hotdog onto the tray, lightly spray oil on top and cook for 1-2 minutes, then rotate the hotdog to prevent a flattened surface on one side. (You can skip this step if you are unconcerned if your corndog has a flat side.)
- Cook for a further 10 minutes when your corndogs will look golden brown.
- Remove the corndogs from the air fryer basket and place them on a wire rack to cool, and drain any residual fat whilst cooking the next batch.
- When ready to eat serve with ketchup, mustard or your favorite dipping sauce.
Tips and tricks
- Buy the finest cornmeal you can find. The course cornmeal just won’t work when using it to make a batter.
- You can use any type of hotdog for this recipe, pork, chicken, turkey, or even vegetarian. Always use the best quality hotdogs you can purchase, they will be healthy, lower in fat, and contain no or fewer chemicals.
- If you can’t find or don’t have buttermilk, no problems. Use full cream milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar of lemon juice to every one cup of milk. Let the milk sit for 30 minutes in the fridge, and boom! You have buttermilk. Make sure to mix before using.
- Make sure to rest your batter before using it. This allows even hydration of the batter and allows the gluten to relax. Any remaining lumps in the batter will also dissolve and smooth into the mixture.
- Make sure you Pat dry the Hotdogs. This will allow the cornstarch to stick better and act as a primer for the batter to stick better.
- Make sure to use long skewers and leave a third of the skewer sticking out, you need a handle to eat these golden delights.
- Pouring the batter into a long glass makes it easier to batter the hot dogs, it allows for even coverage and is far less messy. When you dip the hot dog into the batter, twist your hand as it raises out of the glass, and allow it to drain. This will stop air bubbles from forming when cooking.
- Using your basket with parchment paper that is oiled will make less mess when cleaning, prevent the corndog from sticking and oiling will give an even golden color.
- Use a healthy oil with a high smoking point. It is also better to use a non-aerosol spray bottle, the chemicals in the aerosol sprays can affect the nonstick coating of your air fryer.
- Make sure you spray the tops of the corn dogs to ensure a golden finish.
- Rotating the corndogs in the first 2 minutes may prevent a flattened surface, but not essential. But it is essential to rotate after 5 – 6 minutes to ensure an even golden finish.
- To store after cooking, seal the corndogs in a snap-lock airtight plastic bag. You can then place the bag in the refrigerator for 1-3 days or freeze it for up to 1 month.
- To reheat from the frozen place into the basket of your air fryer and lightly spray with some oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until warm and crunchy.
- Cooking corn dog if you are under keto diet is also possible! But for this, you may have to use a dough-type coating rather than batter (which works better for air fryers). Substitute corn meal with almond flour to remove the carbohydrates from the recipe and add grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese which will give the batter a crisp texture once air fried.
- Alternatively, if you want a n even crispier corn dog, you can also coat your corn dogs in crushed pork rind. Airy frying this mixture will make the coating irresistibly crispy.
- You can also make smaller corn dogs by slicing the hot dogs or sausage you are using. Temporarily skewer these hot dogs so it would be easier to coat them in batter. Once coated, you can neatly line them up in the lined air fryer basket.
- Be careful when substituting sugar with a low carbohydrate-sweetener. The sugar adds texture and crispness to the coating after frying. Removing it can change the texture. If you are going to substitute it, you may want to add cornstarch to the batter to add texture. This will inevitably make the batter thicker.
- If you are having a hard time getting the batter to stick even with the initial coating of cornstarch, wiggle the coated hot dogs while dipped in the batter. This breaks the surface tension between the ingredients and allows the batter to stick.