Amerikan Doggu (アメリカンドッグ, corn dog)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy deep pot or wok
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Tall narrow cup for dipping
• •Wire rack
• •Wooden skewers

Instructions

1. 1

   Skewer sausages

   Pat the sausages dry, then push a wooden skewer straight through each one, stopping before the tip breaks through the far end. Dry sausage matters because water makes the batter slip and sputter in the oil. If the sausages are very long, leave enough bare skewer for a handle.

2. 2

   Dust lightly

   Roll each sausage in a thin coat of flour and tap off the excess. This little dry layer gives the batter something to grip. Too much flour turns pasty, so leave only a pale film.

3. 3

   Mix batter

   Whisk the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk and 1 tablespoon oil, then stir the wet mixture into the dry just until no dry patches remain. A few small lumps are fine. Overmixing wakes up gluten and makes the coating tough, when what you want is a soft, sweet puff.

4. 4

   Check thickness

   Scrape the batter into a tall narrow cup. It should fall from a spoon in a slow ribbon and cling thickly to the sides. If it runs like milk, add flour a teaspoon at a time. If it sits like paste, loosen it with milk a teaspoon at a time.

   The tall cup is the stand-in that works better than a shallow bowl. It lets you dip the sausage in one clean motion, which gives an even coat.
5. 5

   Heat oil

   Pour neutral oil into a heavy pot to a depth of about 7cm and heat it to 170 C. Use a thermometer if you have one. Without one, a drop of batter should sink slightly, then rise with steady bubbles. Oil that's too cool makes the coating greasy; oil that's too hot browns the outside before the sausage warms through.

6. 6

   Dip and fry

   Dip one sausage into the batter, turning as you lift so the coat stays even, then lower it into the oil while rotating the skewer for the first few seconds. That turning sets the batter round instead of letting it slump to one side. Fry two at a time, about 3 to 4 minutes, turning often, until evenly golden.

7. 7

   Drain briefly

   Lift the amerikan doggu onto a rack, not paper towels, and let the surface settle for a minute. A rack keeps the underside crisp instead of trapping oil against it. The color should be warm gold, the coating puffed and even, with the sausage centered inside.

8. 8

   Stripe and serve

   Serve warm with thin stripes of ketchup and mustard. Don't flood it. The sauce is punctuation, not a blanket, and this snack has no need to hide.

Chef Tips

• •Use a firm, mildly smoky sausage that you would enjoy on its own. The batter is sweet and simple, so a bland sausage makes a bland doggu. Sourcing first, even here.
• •Hotcake mix is a common Japanese home shortcut and it gives the familiar konbini flavor. If you use it, choose a plain mix and skip the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt here. That is a sensible stand-in, not a betrayal.
• •Keep the oil between 165 C and 175 C. If the color races ahead, lower the heat. If the batter sits pale and drinks oil, wait before adding the next one.
• •For picnic eating, fry them shortly before you leave and carry them loosely wrapped once cooled a little. Seal them hot in a container and the coating softens.

Advance Preparation

• •The dry batter ingredients can be mixed a day ahead and kept covered at room temperature.
• •Sausages can be skewered and refrigerated up to 8 hours ahead. Pat them dry again before dusting with flour.
• •Fry just before serving when you can. The coating is best within 20 minutes, while the outside is still light and the center warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)