Corn Dogs

Steps

1. Prep6 min
   franks dried hard, skewered, dusted in flour
   • flour
   the dogs patted aggressively dry, wooden skewers driven two-thirds in, then rolled in 1/4 cup flour — the dry-and-dust is the entire adhesion strategy: batter grips flour, and flour grips a dry frank; skip either and the coat slides off in the oil like a dropped towel
2. Whisk3 min
   batter: thick, poured into a tall glass
   • cornmeal
   • sugar
   • honey
   • baking powder
   • buttermilk
   • egg
   cornmeal + remaining flour + sugar + baking powder + salt, then buttermilk + egg + honey — a THICK batter, pancake-plus — poured into the tallest glass in the house, which is the fair vendor's actual secret: one vertical plunge coats the dog evenly root to tip in a way no bowl-and-spoon ever has
3. Fry15 min
   350°F, dipped and straight in, two at a time, ~3 min each
   each floured dog plunged into the glass, lifted with a twist, and lowered directly into the oil — turned as it floats until deep golden all around; the batter puffs into the cornbread jacket that is the whole invention, and the oil temperature between batches is minded like the donut entry taught
4. Rest3 min
   racked, two minutes
   • mustard
   • ketchup
   briefly — then mustard in a zigzag (the entry takes a side; the ketchup faction is accommodated in the optionals) and eaten off the stick standing up, because a corn dog on a plate with a knife and fork is a category error