Mini Corn Dogs with Bacon in the Batter
Cocktail wieners on toothpicks in a thick buttermilk cornmeal batter with finely crumbled bacon folded through it. The wieners are dried and floured first, which is the reason the coating stays on in the oil.
Ingredients
The Bacon Cornmeal Batter
- 3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal fine grind, not stone-ground
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper leave it out for children
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup finely crumbled cooked bacon about 5 strips, crisp
To Fry and Serve
- 24 cocktail wieners or 6 hot dogs cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for dusting the wieners
- 24 wooden toothpicks round rather than flat
- 1 quart peanut or canola oil for frying
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Paper towels
Instructions
Dry and Skewer the Wieners
- Drain the cocktail wieners, spread them on paper towels and pat them thoroughly dry. Brine left on the surface is the main reason batter slides off in the oil.
- Push a wooden toothpick lengthways into each one, leaving enough to hold, then toss them with the 2 tablespoons of flour until they carry a thin film. Shake off anything more than that.
Mix the Batter
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chili powder, cayenne and white pepper together in a bowl.
- Stir in the buttermilk, egg and honey and whisk until no lumps remain, then fold in the crumbled bacon. The batter should mound on a spoon and fall slowly; if it runs, add cornmeal a tablespoon at a time. Pour it into a tall narrow glass.
Fry in Small Batches
- Heat the oil in a deep pot no more than a third full to 360F, and set a wire rack over paper towels beside the stove.
- Lower a wiener into the glass of batter up to the base of the toothpick, let the excess run off for a second and slide it into the oil. Do 4 at a time and go straight from the batter to the pot.
- Fry 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. The sausages are already cooked, so you are only cooking the coating and longer does not help.
Drain and Serve
- Lift them onto the rack and salt them lightly while the surface is still glistening. Let the oil climb back to 360F before the next batch, since 4 wieners drop it by 15 to 20 degrees.
- Serve hot with mustard and ketchup. If they have to wait, hold them on the rack at room temperature and crisp them for 5 minutes in a 400F oven rather than keeping them warm, which turns the coating leathery.
Notes
Make-ahead: cook and crumble the bacon up to 3 days early. Toothpick and dry the wieners the day before and refrigerate them uncovered, which helps rather than hurts. Mix the dry ingredients whenever, but only add the buttermilk when the oil is heating.
Never batter ahead. A coated wiener left standing sheds its batter within a minute.
Batter thickness: it should mound on a spoon and fall slowly. If it runs, add cornmeal a tablespoon at a time.
Storage: 3 days refrigerated, 2 months frozen on a tray then bagged. Reheat at 400F for 8 minutes, or 5 minutes in a 380F air fryer. Not the microwave.
Oil: peanut or canola, strained and reused two or three times.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1mini corn dog | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg