Fair Food at Home

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite parts of the Eastern Idaho State Fair is all the amazing food. After last year's fair was cancelled, we decided to make some of our favorites at home. Out of everything we made, these two recipes were our family’s favorite: corn dogs and tiger ears. The corn dogs are nice crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. For the tiger ears we used frozen roll dough as a shortcut and smothered them in cinnamon sugar and honey butter. 

Corn Dogs

Ingredients: 

1 c. corn meal

1 c. all-purpose flour

¼ c. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 ½ c. buttermilk 

1 egg

1 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. honey

8-10 hotdogs of your choice

10 wooden skewers or chopsticks

2 quarts of vegetable or canola oil

1/3 c. flour or cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Pat hotdogs dry with paper towels. Using either flour or cornstarch, roll each hotdog and shake off the excess. Set aside until ready to dip. 

2. In a large bowl combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Next add buttermilk, egg, oil and honey. Stir until combined. If the batter appears to be too thick to dip the hot dogs, add a few more tablespoons of buttermilk.

4. Pour batter into a large tall cup. This will make it easier for dipping the hotdogs.

5. In a large Dutch oven, heat the two quarts of oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Once oil is heated, begin dipping hot dogs. 

6. Dip the hotdog in the cup and allow a little excess to drip off. Then, turn the hot dog upright and let it settle a little. Put the corn dog in the oil and fry until golden brown on each side. Roughly 3-5 minutes.

7. Remove from the pan and place on a paper towel lined sheet tray or plate.

8. Repeat with the rest of the hot dogs. 

Shortcut Tiger Ears

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen rolls, thawed out

2 quarts of canola or vegetable oil

1 c. cinnamon sugar 

Honey butter

Instructions:

1. Remove rolls from the bag and using a rolling pin roll them into flat circles. 

2. In a large Dutch oven heat the two quarts of oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Once the oil is heated begin adding the dough two or three at a time depending on the size of your pan. 

3. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

4. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined sheet tray or plate. Sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. 

5. When ready to serve, drizzle with honey butter. 

Honey Butter:

Combine ½ c. butter with 2 tbsp. honey.

Cinnamon Sugar:

Combine 1 c. sugar with 1 tbsp. cinnamon

To read more of the September issue click here.