Mini Corn Dogs

Okay, these are so far from gourmet, but for some reason I was craving them. I never even really liked corn dogs before diagnosis.. however, these were better than expected! Crispy and hot, with a touch of salty sweetness. I used regular old Oscar Mayer hot dogs (go ahead and shudder), but any kind of franks would work. I bet kids would love these as finger-food.



Makes 8 small corn dogs
30 minutes
-small saucepan, with deep sides
-long tongs for frying
-candy or deep fry thermometer
Involved

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix (or just plain cornmeal, but add a dash of baking powder~1 tsp.)
1/4 c. Kinnikinnick All Purpose Mix (or your favorite GF flour blend, just add a dash of xanthan gum ~1 tsp.)
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. GF beer-- I used Redbridge
generous shake of salt
enough peanut oil for frying (depth of 1/2 inch in your saucepan)... I probably used ~ 1/2 c.
4 pre-cooked hot dogs*, cut each in half to get 8 mini dogs (no sticks!)
serve with ketchup, relish or mustard
*Oscar Mayer hot dogs are GF, I use the "Jumbo" kind

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the Cornbread mix, the Baking mix and the sugar until well combined (add in baking powder and xanthan gum, too, if just using cornbread and other GF flour). Set flour aside to dust the hot dogs before dipping.
2. Take a nice cold GF beer out of your fridge and add to corn mixture, one 1/4th cup at a time. Stir well between additions. The corn coating should be thick and sticky. Add in desired amount of salt &/or pepper.
3. Slice all hot dogs in half and pat dry. Set beside corn mixture and sprinkle them lightly with excess flour (should help the batter to stick.. I had mild problems getting the franks to fully coat, but I didn't really care in the end).
4. Pour peanut oil into small saucepan, about a half inch deep. These babies absorb alot of oil when cooking, even at higher temps. Place thermometer in the pan to continuously monitor the oil.
5. Begin heating oil to around 350 F. Recruit a friend to watch the oil temp (don't let it go over 400 F) while you dip 2-3 franks into the corn coating with tongs. Try to get a nice, thick cover of batter.
6. Carefully place 2-3 coated franks into the hot oil. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, then turn and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes on the other. Adjust the temp to keep it between 300 and 375 F.
7. My batter would spread out at first, on the 'non-cooking' side before I flipped them, be careful to not pull off the coating. Continue to turn franks and fry until the corn turns a lovely shade of golden-brown (around 8-10 minutes, total, for one batch).
8. Remove from oil and set on a deep stack of paper towels to cool slightly and drain off excess grease. Serve hot and with favorite condiments.