Who Needs the State Fair?

Well even if we did go to the State Fair, as Celiacs, we could not purchase any of their fried foods, which as far as the State Fair goes, is one of the biggest reasons people attend.  No matter where you are at the fair you can smell the aroma of corn dogs, French firies, and a whole wide assortment of fried veggies.  I swear that they pipe the aroma in just to tempt you.  Normally we do not fry any of our food, but there is just something about going to the fair that makes you crave it.  It's in the air, and so much a part of the fair experience.  So this year when my daughter cried because she wanted fried corn dogs, I decided I was going to give it a shot.  For me, just knowing that I can recreate a recipe if I want to or need to is enough to stop me from feeling helpless and hopeless when it comes to our lifelong gluten-free diet.  This is just another step in empowering myself and my daughter.

So I set off to make the perfect homemade corn dog.  Unfortuantely I feel as though I have not found the best recipe yet, but this is all part of the exploration and experimentation process.  I gather up recipes and mix and match them together until I find the right balance for me.

While making the corn dog batter was not too difficult it proved to be quite a challenge to get it to stick onto the hot dog itself.  I tried many tricks that I had seen from other corn dog recipes (putting the corn dog batter into a long cylinder, making sure the hot dogs were dried off, keeping the batter cold and the oil hot, etc.) but try as we might none seemed to work.  If you ask me it was too much labor for a simple corn dog.  The recipe I did use, once on the hot dog and fried was very yummy hot off the frier.  For now I think we are cured from the craving of homemade corn dogs for awhile.  Until the next craving comes around I will continue my quest for  the best corn dog batter recipe.  If anyone has any ideas please let me know.  We also fried up some hush puppies with leftover batter, which are a Southern treat that I had experienced while in Tennessee.

CORN DOG BATTER

2/3 cup cornmeal
1 cup Featherlight flour mix
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tbsp. sugar
1 1/4  c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. water
2 eggs

In large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients. Add buttermilk and water. Beat in eggs and mix well. If batter gets stiff add small amount of water. Roll prepared hot dog in batter and fry in deep hot oil until browned.
To prepare corn dog, use wieners right out of the package; insert stick and coat wiener by rolling it in the batter. Hold on to stick. Leftover batter may be kept a few days in the refrigerator. Can be made into cornbread by adding a little more liquid or drop spoonfuls into hot oil for hush puppies.