This past Superbowl Sunday I wanted to bring something that would fit into the whole “Superbowl Food” category. From experience, I interpreted that as snack food/ bar food/ appetizers. Warning: This is not a healthy treat… but, it is a treat! These were a fun addition to the Superbowl snack table, but they would also work for a carnival themed party, game night, or guys’ night. And, they are not too difficult to make!
I adapted my recipe from the Epicurious recipe, Mini Corn Dogs by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park. I didn’t have all they had on hand and needed a larger batch… so, I made the following changes. But, I encourage you to check out their recipe too!
INGREDIENTS:
- 48 Lil’ Smokies
- 48 Toothpicks
- 1 1/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1/2 Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 TSPs Cayenne Pepper
- 1 TSP Salt
- 1 TSP Black Pepper
- 1 TSP Baking Powder
- 1/4 TSP Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs
- 2 TSP Lemon Juice
- 3/4 Cup Whole Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 2 Cups Crisco (for frying)
- Mustard Dip (recipe at the end)
Other: You’ll want a deep sauce pan for frying, good ventilation (It didn’t smoke for me…but, I hate the smell of frying), and some paper towels. Oh, and… this should go without saying, but I am going to say it anyway. Use a good, long slotted metal spoon or frying utensil to get things out of your oil. DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS IN OR NEAR HOT OIL.CLICK ON TO READ MORE! —>
Directions:
- Poke all of the Lil’ Smokies with toothpicks. Set aside.
- Mix together the lemon juice and the whole milk. Go ahead and add the honey, sugar, and eggs to this mixture and stir until incorporated.
- In another (larger) bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, Cayenee Pepper, Salt, Pepper, Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Stir once or twice to incorporate.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The mixture will be a little bit like pancake batter in consistency. The cornmeal will make it look grainy… that is okay!
- While you are mixing together all of the ingredients it might be a good idea to have your crisco melting in a deep sauce pan. If you have a deep fryer then just follow you deep fryer’s instructions. I heated my oil up on med-high heat and then dropped it to low after it got hot. To see if your oil is ready for use, drop a little bit of your batter into the oil. If it starts immediately frying and it floats to the top then your oil is ready. Remove bits and pieces with a frying spoon or fork as much as possible. They will burn and ruin your oil.
- Now, dip a toothpicked Lil’ Smokie into the batter and coat. Some will drip off. That is okay! Carefully drop the entire Lil’ Smoke into your oil—tooth pick and all.
- I tested my first one all by itself to gauge how quickly it would cook—it was quick. The battered mini corn dog would first sink in the oil and begin frying. As one side of the corn dog got finished it would float to the top of the oil and turn over (all by itself!). As the corn dog changed to a light brown color I knew it was done. As long as your oil is not too hot or you don’t OVER coat your corn dog, the batter should be completely cooked! Take the first couple of corn dogs to get the process down. After I figured out what worked, I cooked 5 corn dogs at a time.
- Put the finished corn dogs on a paper towel to soak up extra grease.
Once finished you’ll want to serve the corn dogs with your favorite mustard… or this tasty Mustard Dip:
Jenni’s Tasty Mustard Dip:
Mix together: 1 cup yellow mustard, 1/4 cup Kewpie Mayonaise, 1 TSP Kosher Salt, 1 TBLS Fresh Ground Pepper.
Simple, but super tasty!
2 Comments
Oh man…I don’t think I would make these because I would EAT EVERY SINGLE ONE! Yum!
I’m pretty sure my husband would love these and we basically have all of those ingredients on hand (minus the smokies). He ate the last of our smokies last night, haha!