Corn dogs

Ingredients:

150 g fine cornmeal
75 g self-raising flour, plus 1 tbsp
2 tsp caster sugar
1 baking powder
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 large egg, beaten
250 ml buttermilk
1 tbsp whole or semi-skimmed milk
10 frankfurter, drained well if canned
Roughly 600 ml sunflower or corn oil, for frying
Mustard or ketchup, to serve 

Method:

1. Put the cornmeal in a large bowl and stir in 75g self raising flour, the sugar, baking powder, chilli powder and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg and buttermilk. Beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth and thick. Stir in the milk until evenly mixed. The batter should have a smooth, dropping consistency. Pour into a large, shallow rectangle dish – a lasagne dish is ideal.

2. Poke a wooden skewer up inside each frankfurter almost all the way through to the end. Using sharp scissors, carefully snip off the skewer 6cm from the bottom of the frankfurter. Put the frankfurters on a plate and dust with 1 tablespoon of self raising flour to lightly coat – this will help the batter stick.

3. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or sauté pan over a medium-high heat to 180C. The oil should rise roughly 2cm in the pan – no deeper. Use a cooking thermometer to gauge the temperature at all times. Do not allow the oil to overheat. Do not leave hot oil unattended.

4. Take one frankfurter at a time and holding the skewer end, roll in the cornmeal batter until thickly and evenly coated. Keep twisting the skewer as you lift the frankfurter from the batter to help keep the coating smooth. Taking great care, gently lower into the hot oil.

5. Fry for 6-8 seconds then turn in the oil with metal tongs and cook for a further 2 minutes, turning after about a minute. As soon as one corn dog is frying, prepare a second in exactly the same way. You should be able to cook 3-4 corn dogs at the same time in a wide-based pan.

6. The corn dogs are ready when the batter is puffed up, deep golden brown and crisp. Lift out and drain on kitchen paper before serving with mustard or ketchup.