Show #417

Recipe By: ©2000 eric villegas

Ingredients:

1 quart peanut oil , for deep frying
wooden sticks, for the hot dogs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably from Michigan
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup maple sugar, preferably from Michigan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tablespoon aji pepper, powdered
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons roasted garlic, puree, see recipe
1 tablespoon bacon drippings, optional
1 1/4 cups cultured buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 lbs. hot dogs, high quality, locally made
wooden sticks

Directions:

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, maple sugar, baking powder, aji chile powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the melted bacon drippings, garlic puree, egg, buttermilk and baking soda. Mix until everything is smooth and well blended.

For the traditional corndog …

Place the cornstarch onto a cookie sheet. Gently shake the pan back and forth to disperse the starch. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and shake to remove any excess.

Fill a large drinking glass 3/4's to the top with the batter (refill the glass as needed). Insert wooden sticks into the ends of the hot dogs and quickly dip in and out of the batter shaking off any excess. Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the hot oil, and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, remove to cooling rack, and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.

For a octopus corndog …

Cut hot dog in half, length-wise, leaving about 2" intact at the end. Cut each of the long sections in half (lengthwise), then in half again - these will be the octopus legs. Carefully roll each hot dog in the cornstarch making sure to get in between the legs and shake to remove any excess.

Fill a large drinking glass 3/4's to the top with the batter (refill the glass as needed). Insert wooden sticks into the ends of the hot dogs and quickly dip in and out of the batter shaking off any excess being careful to get batter in between the legs. Immediately and carefully spread the legs a bit to prevent sticking them together and
slowly place each hot dog into the hot oil, gently swinging them back and forth allowing the legs to curl and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, remove to cooling rack, and allow to drain standing up for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve with ballpark style mustard.