Cheesy Low Carb “Corn” Dogs

This recipe is gluten and grain free, pretty high in protein, and very low in carbohydrates. It’s also crazy delicious, crunchy, and cheesy. The flavor is great, and it’s very filling. BUT! It’s not a health food. It’s a hot dog, with a ton of cheese in a special breading, and then deep fried. It’s a sometimes food, but a dang good one. Proceed with caution and the knowledge that this recipe is so good and so easy that it’s gonna haunt you.

The world’s best corn dog and the world’s best mozzarella stick are about to have a baby. And you’re going to eat that baby.

Let’s begin…

Ingredients:
6 Hot Dogs
1.5 cups almond flour
3.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
Oil for frying

You will also need:
A wide and shallow frying pan
A stove or range to cook on
A large microwaveable bowl
A smaller bowl
A microwave
A spatula
Six skewers or 3 pairs of wooden chopsticks
Parchment paper
A rolling pin
A knife
Tongs

You can use a skewer or chopsticks that you split into two pieces to impale the hotdogs, but I find that the chopsticks are sturdier and do better overall. Do you want to push the chopstick all the way to the end of the hot dog, right before you feel it about to push through the casing.

Have them rest on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and pat off any condensation if your hotdogs are cold.

Put your cheese into your large microwavable bowl, and begin to melt it in 60 second increments in the microwave. You do want it to be melted, but not lava hot or bubbly or starting to brown. It’s okay if you still see some individual shreds.

In the smaller bowl, which doesn’t need to be microwave safe, add your almond flour, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder and mix until it seems consistent. Then, add to the large bowl with your melted cheese, and add your egg.

At this point, you can choose how you want to proceed to mix everything together. A blender or a food processor will be handy, but I have a very high tolerance for heat and a low tolerance for clean up, so I will simply use my hands to knead it like dough. It can be super hot when you get that cheese first melted, though, so proceed with caution, whatever you choose!

Ball up your dough, and place it on top of a piece of parchment paper. Set another piece of parchment paper on top and begin to roll the dough out into as close to a square shape as you can, between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.

With a sharp knife, cut a rectangle of dough that is as long as your hotdog and 3 to 4 times as wide. Hold that rectangle of dough in your hand, and place your skewered hot dog atop it. Wrap the dough around your hotdog. Mash the dough together at the seams, and make sure that the tip of the hotdog and the area where the skewer enters are well covered.

Now you have your final corndog shape!

Add your oil to your pan and turn your pan on to high heat. You should have about half of an inch of oil in the pan. You can see here that I used avocado oil, but you may wanna choose a different option if you have dogs in the house. While it didn’t create a lot of splatter for me, avocado is highly toxic to dogs, so again, choose a different high heat oil if you need to.

WAIT UNTIL THE OIL IS FULLY HEATED. If you don’t, your corn dogs are going to cook unevenly, stick to the bottom of the pan, or they may completely fall apart. Will they still be edible and delicious? Yes. But they won’t have that beautiful County Fair corn dog appearance and experience.

Once the oil is fully heated, gently placed your first corn dogs into your pan with an inch or two in between each one. Let them cook until the edge submerged in the oil is browned, which you should be able to see, and then turn over as needed to make sure that all sides are cooked.

Once golden brown on all edges, remove from the oil and let drain on paper towels on a plate.

Just one of these corndogs has more than double the calories of a regular deep-fried corn dog, but also has around half as many grams of carbohydrates, and over four times the protein.

So. Y’know. *shrug* You know your body best, so eat for that. Personally, I think it’s worth trying this recipe. Just don’t make the mistake and eat two in one setting, because it’s gonna sit like a delicious brick in your stomach.

Enjoy and please comment if you play around with seasonings or dipping sauces. :)