Fair Day Venison Corn Dogs

Contributed by Stacy Lynn Harris

“Fair food” happens to be one of my favorite feel-good cuisines, and sometimes I just have to have it. If you’ve been reading my articles and recipes, you know my love affair with venison. A few weeks ago, I thought, “Why not marry my favorite food group, venison, with my feel-good fair food, corn dogs.” The birth of the Venison Corn Dog was born and will remain alive in my home for as long as I’m around!

One of the pleasures of this recipe is that anyone with ground venison, venison sausage links, or ground venison sausage can make this dish. The only special equipment, wooden sticks, can be found in the arts and crafts section of your favorite super center.

Venison Corn Dogs are perfect as a make-ahead meal and can be frozen after they’re cooked for up to 3 to 6 months. I usually quadruple the recipe, fry them all, then allow them to cool on cooling racks. Once cooled, I place them in freezer bags and bring them out for football games during hunting season or on those nights I need supper fast! Whatever your situation, I trust that this recipe will become your new favorite!

Ingredients

8 venison sausage links or 1 pound ground venison sausage

8 cups of vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons for the batter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Special Equipment

8 wooden sticks (found in the arts and crafts section of super mart stores)

On a griddle or cast iron skillet, cook sausage links until cooked through and lay aside to cool. If using ground venison or ground sausage, mold the sausage around the wooden sticks to resemble a link, leaving one to two inches for the handle then thoroughly cook over medium heat on griddle or skillet. Remove to a plate to cool.

In a large Dutch oven, pour the vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, insert wooden sticks into the links. Place 1/4 cup of the flour onto a plate and roll venison sausage in flour to coat, shaking off excess.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining flour (1/2 cup), cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cayenne, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil then add eggs one at the time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in buttermilk. Transfer some of the batter to a tall glass, filling it a little more than 3/4 full.

Holding the end of the wooden stick, dip each sausage into the batter coating completely working in batches. Carefully lower the battered sausage and stick into the hot oil. Using tongs remove corndog when the batter is golden brown all over, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer venison corndogs to paper towels to drain. Repeat procedure with remaining venison sausage dogs and batter. Serve immediately with mustard.

To re-heat: bake at 400 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes on a sheet pan.

This featured recipe is from Stacy Lynn Harris, a best-selling cookbook author, blogger, speaker, TV host, wife, and a mother. Stacy Lynn made a name for herself by becoming naturally self-sufficient and being constantly creative. Through homeschooling her seven children, raising livestock, hunting wild game, growing and preserving fruits and vegetables, and making all of her family’s meals completely from scratch.

In the pages of Stacy Lynn’s Harvest Cookbook, one of several easily adoptable cookbooks that she has authored focused on cooking with fresh ingredients, readers who hunt their own game or garden will find a wealth of recipes that build upon the benefits of home cooking with locally sourced ingredients.

Follow her on Facebook or Instagram at @stacylynharris, and visit her site StacyLynHarris.com for more recipes, to subscribe to her newsletter featuring more lifestyle and gardening tips, and to purchase her cookbooks.

This article originally appeared in the August 2018 editions of  Outdoor News