Recipe: Venison Corn Dog

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 1 HOUR | COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

Nothing says summer in the USA like a corn dog. It reminds me of visiting my grandparents who lived on a lake during the summertime. Grandpa would give us $5 and a massive roll of tickets for rides. My cousin and I would run off to shoot bottle rockets into the lake, eat corn dogs and ice cream, and find ways to come home much later than we were supposed to.

As an adult, my main complaint with corn dogs is that they’re almost never made with a sausage you’d want to eat. So, over the years, when I get the hankering for a bit of corn dog delight, I make them myself.

The first thing? Start with good sausage. Lucky for us, we have the ability to make that from scratch.

I use sheep-cased (small casing) venison beer brat. Give it a quick cook. Dust with flour for batter adhesion. Dunk into the beer batter. Then fry and dunk into a hatch chili garlic mayo.

Hatch chilies are perhaps one of the tastier peppers, and you can easily nab a jar at most grocery stores. Hot will mean hot. So, choose mild, if that’s your thing.

Recipe: Bone-in Venison Loin with Morel Sauce

The key to good sausage and good batter is testing. Don’t just follow my steps and not check for yourself. Make your sausage and cook a little to taste. To use uncased sausage, you need it to have a really nice protein extraction. So, mix it until it’s really sticky, or case it in sheep casing like I did when making sausage last summer.

These sausages are usually the size you make as breakfast links. However, these are longer and the perfect size for a corn dog. You can also use breakfast links if you’ve made them.

A really great way of dunking your corn dogs is putting the batter in a tall pint glass. The long, tall shape helps keep batter deep, so it covers the whole dog.

Consider making a mini dog to see how the batter sticks on the sausage before frying the whole batch. It might need more liquid, or more flour, and you’ll want to adjust for that. Remember, a key element with any batter is giving it 15 minutes to set up. You want the baking powder to start doing its thing, and all the grains to be nicely saturated. This will make for a fluffier situation, much like how you’d want a pancake.

Of course, make sure you soak your skewers in water to keep them from burning in the hot oil. You’ll give the sausages a quick cook, skewer them, dunk in batter, and then fry. I like using things like peanut oil for a high smoke point but also have been known to burn through a few cups of olive oil, as it tastes amazing.

Recipe: Lengua and Salsa Macha Tacos

INGREDIANTS

Batter:

1 egg
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup lager beer (less hops is better — sub in milk if you don’t have beer)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2-10 cups oil for frying

Filler:

1 lb. sausage
8-10 skewers

Sauce:

1 cup mayo
½ tablespoon garlic powder
¼ cup hatch chilies
½ batch fresh cilantro

Venison Beer Brat:

5 lbs. 70/30 venison/pork fat (you’ll have leftovers)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
4 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons black ground pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup crispy cold beer
Sheep casings

DETAILED STEPS

If you don’t have small links in sheep casing, make them with the beer brat recipe provided.
Grind all meat with seasoning applied.
Salt meat the night before making and let it settle (if you have time).
Run sausage twice through grinder (second time with a small, fine grind).
Add beer and mix until sticky.
Stuff into sheep casings, poking any air bubbles after making 4- to 6-inch dogs.
Let rest on a tray to settle for a day (if possible).
Mix batter by mixing all dry ingredients. Add the whisked egg and cup of beer.
Dunk kebab sticks directly in batter to see if it sticks or runs off. Adjust for something similar to a waffle batter, or even a bit thicker, but not bread-dough-like.
Heat up a cast-iron skillet to medium with a tablespoon of oil.
Brown all sausages, but don’t overcook. You want a little spring left as they finish in the fryer.
Dab sausages to get oil off. Slide onto skewers. Dust with thin layer of flour (covering completely).
Heat up peanut oil to 350 to 375 degrees. If using lower smoke point oil, keep 25 to 50 degrees below the smoke point. I like cast iron to keep the temps even.
Once oil is hot, dunk sausages in batter and immediately put in oil. Don’t crowd the pan.
Rotate them so all sides brown to prevent cracking and uneven cooking.
Put on rack to cool and finish cooking all in waves.
Blend mayonnaise, hatch chilies, powdered garlic, and cilantro for the dipping sauce to serve on the side.