Give Corn Dogs Southern Flair By Changing Up The Batter

A staple at county and state fairs, corn dogs are the ultimate American handheld meal: a hot dog encased in essentially a thin layer of cornbread, topped with quintessentially American condiments like ketchup and bright yellow mustard. But it's not just the United States that yearns for carb-covered sausages; you can find this delicious combination in Argentina's panchuker and Australia's dagwood dog. Similarly, Korean-style corn dogs with exciting and diverse batters have been massively popular for years, but for now, we encourage you to stick closer to home next time you make corn dogs and give them a Southern spin by switching up the coating to a hush puppy batter.

Making these Southern-inspired corn dogs doesn't take much more work than any normal corn dog recipe would, as you're really just switching up the batter that's used to dip the hot dogs in. Use the batter for our Cajun andouille hush puppies recipe, omitting the diced andouille sausage (but you can keep the Cajun seasoning if you prefer for a specifically Louisiana-style hush puppy batter). Combine with the hush puppy batter, using the method that's described in our sweet and spicy corn dogs recipe for a mashup of both recipes. Don't forget to sprinkle the exteriors with salt right after the dogs come out of the fryer. 

In terms of texture, hush puppy batter can sometimes to be a bit more dense and toothsome than a traditional corn dog batter, but a balance of corn meal and all-purpose flour helps to offset that density. Flavor-wise, the hush puppy batter will still have that traditional cornbread-like taste of a regular corn dog, but with a bit less sweetness due to the lack of sugar in the batter.

If you want to go full-on Southern, swap the traditional hot dog for a Southern-style sausage, like an andouille sausage or even use Conecuh sausage from Alabama, a hickory-smoked pork sausage that's beloved in the state. For bite-sized versions that are easy to share with a crowd, you could skip the stick altogether and use cocktail weenies dipped in the hush puppy batter, as shown in the video below.

For dipping sauces to serve alongside the hush puppy corn dogs, we recommend pairing them with a beloved Louisiana staple like remoulade sauce, which is substantial in the flavor department and would hold up well against the corn dog. You could make a Cajun-inspired dipping sauce with sour cream, Duke's mayo, green onions, and some Cajun or Creole seasoning. Another option would be a more mild mayo-based dipping sauce that uses relish and Dijon mustard, plus a slash of Crystal hot sauce to your liking to balance out the sweetness of the relish.