Gourmet corn dog

by Ed Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups plain flour
  • ⅔ cup fine polenta
  • 1 Tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp fine salt
  • 2 tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 8 premium quality sausages
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  • condiments

Instructions

1 Combine 1 cup flour, polenta, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, salt, pepper, buttermilk, eggs and oil in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the polenta to soak up some of the liquid.
2 Meanwhile, steam the sausages over a saucepan of simmering water for 6 minutes, until firm, then set aside to cook. Thread onto bamboo sticks or individual disposable chopsticks.
3 Dust the sausages with the remaining flour and dip in the batter. Fry in hot (190°C) vegetable oil for 2 minutes, until crispy, then drain well. Serve with condiments.

COOK’S NOTES: Steaming the sausage first allows you to reduce some of the greasy feel and fat content, while needing less cooking for less fat absorption. Also, a higher oil temperature for frying similarly reduces cook time, giving a crisper batter.