12 Ways To Upgrade Corn Dogs

Foods don't get more American than the classic corn dog. This state fair staple, consisting of a hot dog that's been covered in a corn batter and then deep-fried, has been filling bellies since the mid-20th century, when it was allegedly invented by hot dog stand owners George and Vera Boyington. (The corn dog's origin is surprisingly mysterious, though, so it may have been around before then.) Corn dogs are beloved for their sheer simplicity, as well as the ease with which they can be eaten. Instead of having to worry about your hands getting grubby while you contend with a hot dog bun and loads of wet toppings, you munch the snack straight off a stick, minimizing mess and maximizing pleasure.

That's not to say that corn dogs don't have downsides. In their base form, they can be a little boring, with the neutral-tasting corn batter sometimes lacking flavor. While their stick-based serving style is convenient, it can also limit the amount of toppings you can use. If you're thinking that this all means that your corn dogs are destined to be bland, though, don't despair. There are dozens of genius ways to elevate your corn dogs quickly and easily, and we've included our favorites right here.

While one of the main ingredients in corn dogs is, of course, corn, the batter that encases them is not solely made from cornmeal. Instead, corn dogs are covered in a batter made from cornmeal and regular flour, with the latter creating a glueyness that coats the sausage properly.

Most corn dog recipes use regular flour, which does the job — but if you want to amp up the flavor of your dog, use cake flour instead. Cake flour has a lighter consistency than regular flour and is usually milled more finely. It also has a lower protein content than regular flour, which means that it's essentially less glutinous but also that it produces a lighter, more tender crumb. This is ideal for corn dogs, as they can end up being pretty heavy and dense, and using cake flour can give them an airiness and stop them from getting too chewy.

If you don't have any cake flour at home, though, never fear. You can improvise some pretty easily by combining all-purpose flour with cornstarch. For every cup of all-purpose flour you use, just add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch (after removing the same amount of flour), which will give the batter a slight silkiness and lightness when cooked.

Corn dogs are savory snacks, and while they have a hint of sweetness from the cornmeal batter, saltiness and umami are the primary flavors. Boosting their sweet notes through the use of honey, though, can introduce an entirely new taste profile that gives the hot dog's flavor even more punch. Sugar and meat are a classic combination, with regular table sugar and honey commonly used to help tenderize meat cuts and assist with caramelization. As well as this, combining sweet flavors with savory and salty ones creates layers of taste, activating our body's flavor receptors more robustly than if just one taste alone is present.

While using honey won't exactly help caramelize the corn dogs, it will give their flavor a massive boost. Once your corn dogs are cooked, dip a pastry brush in honey and give the outside of the dog a light coat. Not only does this give the corn dog honey's mellow, floral taste notes, but the honey can then act as a glue for any other toppings you want, like sesame seeds or bacon bits. If you wish, you can also use honey as an ingredient in any dipping sauce you're whipping up, giving it extra intensity and sweetness.

Beer is an underused ingredient when it comes to corn dog batter, but in our view, it's a must. The alcoholic drink is commonly used in batter for fish and chips, where it gives the coating a light, airy texture. When it's poured into batter, beer's carbon dioxide floods the mixture, and when it's cooked in oil, this CO₂ expands fast, creating pockets of air in the batter that increase the crunch factor and stop it from becoming too chewy.

Given that beer and hot dogs are a natural combo, we're kind of surprised it isn't a standard addition to corn dog batter — especially because it's so easy to incorporate. For beer-battered corn dogs, add one part beer for every two parts of flour and cornmeal. It's best to use a light beer, like a lager, pilsner, or pale ale, as dark ales have a higher sugar content that can contribute to your batter burning. Don't leave your beer batter sitting for too long before you cook it, as you run the risk of the CO₂ bubbling out and the batter going flat, ruining the whole point of adding the beer in the first place.

American corn dogs are over, folks, and Korean corn dogs are here to stay. Korean corn dogs amp things up in several ways, starting with the filling. Instead of just using sausage, Korean corn dogs can also use blocks or tubes of mozzarella, making, in essence, a mozzarella stick impaled on a skewer and covered in delicious batter. Recipes can also incorporate both hot dogs and mozzarella in one dog, giving you the best of both worlds.

As for the batter, Korean corn dogs' signature uneven texture is achieved by first rolling the filling in the batter and then studding it with cubed potatoes. After this, the corn dog is then rolled in panko breadcrumbs before being deep-fried. This creates a dynamite combination of textures and flavors, with the crunchiness of the panko being offset by the soft, pillowy potato pieces. To finish things off, Korean corn dogs are then dusted with sugar for a salty-sweet taste duo, before being drizzled with your choice of sauces. While Korean corn dogs take a little more prep time to make, you'll be rewarded with a dish that's way more filling and has an undeniably more exciting flavor profile.

While cheese is easy to add to a hot dog, it's more difficult to use with corn dogs. Because corn dogs don't have the vessel of the bun to keep the cheese in place, it's prone to falling straight off its surface and scattering all over the floor. The solution, though, is to make a cheese dip to dunk your corn dogs in. Cheese-based dips are perfect for corn dogs as their creaminess pairs fabulously with the salty sausage, and they also provide some important moisture to the dense dough.

For cheese dips, cream cheese is arguably the easiest base to use, thanks to its smoothness and mild flavor. You can throw pretty much anything you like into a cream cheese base, with acidic elements like lemon juice, chopped pickles, and vinegary hot sauce helping to stop it being too one-note. You can also achieve this tanginess by substituting cream cheese with goat cheese, which also has a slightly briny undertone that works well with the corn dough. If using goat cheese, you may find that you need to thin it out slightly more than if using cream cheese, as it can be slightly more solid and crumbly.

People don't typically choose corn dogs for subtle, complex flavors — their pleasure is in their punchy, salty smack and pillowy softness. However, that doesn't mean that corn dogs can't be given extra depth. One of the best ways to do this is with the use of warming spices, as celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi opts to do. Ottolenghi mixes ground cumin, crushed coriander seeds, and Aleppo chili into his corn dog batter, as well as finely chopped chives. The cumin and coriander give the dogs fragranced notes that complement the savoriness of the sausage, while the chili gives them a hint of heat, and the chives provide brightness.

Spices can also be incorporated into dipping sauces and go especially well mixed into one with a yogurt or cream cheese base. Instead of hot dogs, Ottolenghi also suggests using merguez, a spiced lamb sausage commonly found in Middle Eastern countries and often made with cumin, garlic, and harissa. When you're using hot dogs, though, don't be shy about adding in any other spices you like to use; as regular franks are so versatile, they'll go with pretty much anything.