Vintage Corn Dog Recipe
When did we stop making corn dogs from scratch? They’re so so much better! And cheap! All around superior.
I have been craving an old fashioned fresh fried corn dog, so a picnic was the perfect excuse to make some. I know, not exactly the trendiest, or even the classiest food, but it has to be one of the tastiest. So, when I found a recipe for homemade corndogs, I knew exactly what I would make for my romantic picnic. Hey, romance looks different for everyone, and if salmon croquettes and cucumber sandwiches are romantic to you, go for it. For me, a batter fried hot dog is super romantic, so don’t judge.
Velma McCrary shared her recipe for Crispy Corn Dogs in her community’s cookbook, and I am so grateful she did. They are very easy to make, but there are a few tricks, and I get that deep frying can be a little intimidating, and sometimes even impractical, so I’m going to show you a two different ways to make them that I think you might enjoy.
First is the easy to share corn dog bite. No need to worry about running out of skewers or a large enough frying pan, you can whip these up quickly, and they even freeze well for later.
And last will be my personal favorite, an oven baked corn dog that that uses one of the more obscure pieces of vintage cast iron I own, the adorably unique crispy corn stick pan. One recipe, cooked two ways, both delicious and super easy.
So first, let’s make the batter. First, we combine all the dry ingredients. So, flour and cornmeal, then sugar, dry mustard, baking powder, and salt. Give that a mix, or better yet, a whisk until it’s well combined.
Then, we’ll get the wet ingredients together. Whisk milk with one egg, then add a melted fat. The recipe calls for shortening, but I used butter. Oil would work just as well.
Now combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until smooth. Now that our batter is done, I recommend you pop it in the fridge while we prep the hot dogs. This step isn’t in the instructions, and it’s totally optional, but a cold batter will stick to the hot dog better, so you may as well chill it while you get things ready.
The first method we’ll do is the corn dog bite. Before you cut up your hot dogs, though, you’ll want to make sure they are super dry, so pat them dry with a towel to make sure the batter will stick well. Now, cut them up while you heat the oil to 375°. I’m going to use avocado oil to fry mine, but you can use peanut oil, or any other high heat, low flavor oil. Now grab that chilled batter, and a couple skewers. it’s the easiest way to dip them in the batter and transfer them to the oil without making a mess and burning your fingers. Drop them in the hot oil, using the skewers to roll them over after a few seconds in the oil. Keep turning them until they are golden brown, and transfer them to a rack to cool. I recommend only frying a few at a time. They go very quickly and take a bit of technique, so it’s best to not get overwhelmed. Easy enough! The next method to consider is my favorite. I am obsessed with these corn stick pans. They were used to make crispy corn bread sticks, shaped like little corn dogs, and you can find them for pretty cheap at thrift stores or online. They’re cast iron, and corn sticks must have been a pretty trendy thing to make back in the day because all the big iron companies made them. Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, all of them had their version. I have several. This one is the “‘ from Wagner. And you don’t have to do just cornbread. Really any bread, including cakes, can be baked up in these. Today, I’m going to make baked corn dogs in mine, and I’ll show you how. First, we want to get it good and hot, and since it’s cast iron, we can. Just pop it in the oven as you preheat it to 400°. It will be ready when the oven is. While it’s warming, take your hot dogs and cut them in half lengthwise and set them aside. Now take your hot corn stick pan out of the oven and rub a stick of butter in each corn until they are well-coated. Now, pour batter in each corn until about half full, then place a hot dog half in each, pressing it down a bit into the batter. Now, put it back in the oven to bake for about 12-15 minutes. All done! I let mine cool in the pan, upside down, to keep them nice and flat. They come out beautifully golden and crispy in an adorable corn cob shape. Perfect for a party, or in my case, a picnic. Do you need this exact corn stick pan to make these? No, of course not. It won’t be as cute, but a muffin pan works great, too. So, here you go. Delicious, crispy corn dogs made two different ways with one recipe. Don’t want to deep fry? No problem. Want to enjoy some now, and freeze some for later? Done! I’m going to pack mine up for the picnic now, but I hope you enjoyed making them with me. I’m so grateful Velma shared her recipe so I can enjoy it today. I hope it inspires you to save more of these vintage spiral-bound community cookbooks, and cook more old recipes. Follow me if you’d like to see what else I cooked for my picnic, and share with anyone you think might enjoy it, too.
The first method we’ll do is the corn dog bite. Before you cut up your hot dogs, though, you’ll want to make sure they are super dry, so pat them dry with a towel to make sure the batter will stick well. Now, cut them up while you heat the oil to 375°.
I’m going to use avocado oil to fry mine, but you can use peanut oil, or any other high heat, low flavor oil. Now grab that chilled batter, and a couple skewers. It’s the easiest way to dip them in the batter and transfer them to the oil without making a mess and burning your fingers.
Drop them in the hot oil, using the skewers to roll them over after a few seconds in the oil. Keep turning them until they are golden brown, and transfer them to a rack to cool. I recommend only frying a few at a time. They go very quickly and take a bit of technique, so it’s best to not get overwhelmed. Easy enough!
The next method to consider is my favorite. I am obsessed with these corn stick pans. They were used to make crispy corn bread sticks, shaped like little corn cobs, and you can find them for pretty cheap at thrift stores or online. They’re cast iron, and corn sticks must have been a pretty trendy thing to make back in the day because all the big iron companies made them. Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, all of them had their version. I have several. This one is the “Krusty Korn Kob” pan from Wagner.
And you don’t have to do just cornbread. Really any bread, including cakes, can be baked up in these. Today, I’m going to make baked corn dogs in mine, and I’ll show you how.
First, we want to get it good and hot, and since it’s cast iron, we can. Just pop it in the oven as you preheat it to 400°. It will be ready when the oven is. While it’s warming, take your hot dogs and cut them in half lengthwise and set them aside.
Now take your hot corn stick pan out of the oven and rub a stick of butter in each corn until they are well-coated. Now, pour batter in each corn until about half full, then place a hot dog half in each, pressing it down a bit into the batter. Now, put it back in the oven to bake for about 12-15 minutes. All done!
I let mine cool in the pan, upside down, to keep them nice and flat. They come out beautifully golden and crispy in an adorable corn cob shape. Perfect for a party, or in my case, a picnic.
Do you need this exact corn stick pan to make these? No, of course not. It won’t be as cute, but a muffin pan works great, too.
So, here you go. Delicious, crispy corn dogs made two different ways with one recipe. Don’t want to deep fry? No problem. Want to enjoy some now, and freeze some for later? Done!
I’m going to pack mine up for the picnic now, but I hope you enjoyed making them with me.
I’m so grateful Velma shared her recipe so I can enjoy it today. I hope it inspires you to save more of these vintage spiral-bound community cookbooks, and cook more old recipes. Follow me if you’d like to see what else I cooked for my picnic, and share with anyone you think might enjoy it, too.
LOVE THIS RECIPE? GET TO KNOW THE VINTAGE COMMUNITY COOKBOOK ITS FROM.
KITCHENWARE USED IN THIS RECIPE
VINTAGE PYREX
Amish Butterprint from the 1950’s
VINTAGE PYREX
Pink Gooseberry from the 1950’s