Bacon Wrapped Corn Dogs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F

2. Lay bacon strips on a foil lined baking sheet and par-bake until halfway done and still flexible, about 10 minutes. This pre-shrinks the strips before wrapping them around the hot dogs.

3. Remove bacon from the oven and let cool enough to handle.

4. For each hot dog, lay 2 bacon strips end to end to create one long continuous strip, overlapping about 1”, and wrap around the hot dog. If you’ve got the patience, tuck the ends of the strips under the wrapping to secure them. Otherwise, break a few toothpicks in half and use them to secure the bacon on the hot dog.

5. Return the wrapped hotdogs to the oven and bake until the bacon is nicely done to your desired crispiness, about 10-15 minutes more. Be sure to remove the toothpicks if you’ve used them.

6. Meanwhile, heat a pot of vegetable or canola oil to 375F using an instant read thermometer to monitor temperature every couple minutes.

7. Make the batter. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk, and transfer the mixture to a tall narrow container well proportioned for dipping the hot dogs.

8. Run a skewer lengthwise through each bacon wrapped hot dog, dip in the batter so it’s well coated, and quickly but CAREFULLY place it in the frying oil.

9. Using tongs, again being EXTREMELY CAREFUL, roll the corn dog in the oil to even the browning as its cooks, about 2-3 minutes total.

10. When they are done, transfer corn dogs to a paper towel to drain excess oil.

11. Serve immediately with dipping sauces like ketchup, mustard, aioli, gochujang, sriracha etc.