Corn Dogs

I found this recipe while flipping through the "Food Network Favorites" cookbook. I never thought of making corn dogs from scratch before that, but once I saw the picture of Alton Brown's corn dogs I was hooked. He has an amazing abililty to make something everyday into something special. The downside to this recipe is you have to buy a lot of oil and then dispose of that oil. The upside is they taste amazing. You can make a large batch and freeze them and then just heat them up in the oven.

Corn Dogs

1 gallon peanut oil (if you are having trouble finding a large container, try an Asian supermarket or wait until Thanksgiving)

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons (approximately 1 large) jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1 (8.5-ounce) can cream-style corn
1/3 cup finely grated onion
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons cornstarch, for dredging
8 beef hot dogs (can use whatever dogs you want, I've even used soy dogs before)
Special equipment: 8 sets chopsticks, not separated (pilfer from Panda, or buy them at an Asian supermarket)

Pour oil into a deep fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and stir only enough times to bring the batter together; there should be lumps. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Scatter the cornstarch into a dry pie pan. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap well to remove any excess.

Transfer enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass. Refill the glass as needed. Place each hot dog on chopsticks, and quickly dip in and out of the batter. Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the 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.