Banderillas

A friend of mine named Joe Pastry recently mentioned that he liked "corn dogs" which are "hot dogs" on a stick that are coated in batter and deep fried in oil. In Mexico "corn dogs" are called "banderillas" (bahn-deh-REE-yahz) because they look a bit like the barbed darts that are thrust into the neck of the bull during a bull fight to infuriate him. I usually make banderillas for birthday parties and they are a very popular item with kids and adults alike. They are fairly easy and quick to make and not at all expensive. The best part is that you never have to worry about leftovers because they all get snatched up and eaten. I make my own Mexican version that goes like this.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1- 1/2 cups masa harina (corn flour for making tortillas)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
15-18 hot dog weiners
(1/2 cup) all purpose flour flour for dusting the weiners
1 liter of cooking oil for deep frying
15-18 clean wooden skewer sticks (any kind will do...4" to 6" long)

In a large bowl combine the milk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Mix it all up really well. Then slowly add in the baking powder, corn flour, and all purpose flour while stirring. Stir it all up to make a fairly thick batter.

Shove the wooden sticks into the hot dogs at least two inches to form the handle. Dry the hot dogs on a paper towel if they are wet. Then dust the hot dogs with all purpose flour, coating them thinly but completely. The cornmeal batter won't stick to the hot dogs unless they are coated first. If they don't have a fine coating of flour dust the batter will just slide right off.

Put the oil in a pan to a depth of about two inches or so. The pan should be longer than it is wide to limit the amount of oil needed. I use an oval shaped cast dutch oven. Of course, if you have an electric fryer unit by all means use that. Heat the oil to about 375°. It should be almost smoking by the time you are ready to add the corn dogs. Put some of the corn dog batter into a tall drinking glass to about 3/4 full. Dip your hot dog into the batter while you hold onto the stick. Swirl the hot dog and dunk it up and down to coat it evenly. Be careful so that the batter doesn't overflow. Raise the hot dog above the cup and let any excess batter drip off. Quickly place the battered dog into the hot oil. The oil will bubble up and cook the outside of the batter, making the corn dogs the exact same shape as the ones you buy at the supermarket or the fair.

Only fry a few corn dogs at a time. If the corn dogs crowd each other they don't fry very well. Fry only two or three at a time for best results. Turn the corn dogs (or roll them over) a few times to make sure that they brown evenly. They only take a minute or two to cook. They will look a mellow, "yellow-brown" when done. Use metal tongs to remove the cooked corn dogs from the hot oil. Let them drain for a minute or two on paper towels. Repeat the process, coating and frying a few at a time, until all of the corn dogs are cooked. Refill the tall glass with batter from time to time as necessary and don't forget to dust with flour first. If you are making these for adults you may want to add about 1-1/2 teaspoons of chili powder to the batter to spice it up a little bit but for kids it is probably better if you don't add the chili. Besides, they taste great with or without the chili. They smell and look so good that they will probably start to disappear while you are cooking them. I usually buy enough hot dogs to make double the amount if necessary because people keep coming back for more. Don't forget to have plenty of catsup and mustard on hand also. Then, like we say here in Mexico:

"Buen Provecho"