In March every year, National Corn Dog Day gives sports fans, concert and fairgoers another chance to dunk.
- German Texans apparently weren’t finding their sausages well received, and it’s said that they innovated and dipped it in a delicious breading and fried it. The first record of the corn dog we have is in 1927, when a patent was submitted to the US Patent Office.
- Stanley S. Jenkins, holds the patent of the corn dog.
- Many people attribute Neil Fletcher with the creation of this match made in heaven at the Texas State Fair in 1942, but Stanley Jenkins was a few steps ahead. Pronto Pups of the Minnesota State Fair also claims to have invented the corn dog in 1941. Today, corn dog’s original inventor remains one of the world’s most heated food debates.
- The Texas State Fair sells 630,000 corn dogs per season (which is only 24 days). That’s 600,000 pounds of wieners, 25 tons of cornmeal mix, 21,000 pounds of oil, 1,500 gallons of mustard and 800 gallons of Ketchup.
- Corn dogs are not just an American staple. Argentina calls corn dogs “panchukers” and enjoys them with cheese. Australians will often use a white or wheat-based batter on their dogs known as “Dagwood dogs, Pluto pups or dippy dogs” depending on the region. New Zealand, South Korea and Japan are also known to enjoy this American indulgence.
- A line of maple-scented corn dog related jewelry is available for purchase.
- A 1927 Buffalo, N.Y.,patent application from Stanley S. Jenkins for a machine that would fry battered foods on sticks. Despite the patent approval in ’29, Jenkins disappeared into obscurity.
- The 1930s Oregon “Pronto Pup” — George Boyington and his wife dipped their dogs in batter during a rainy weekend full of soggy hot dog buns. They trademarked their Pronto Pups in 1942 and are still sold both at Rockaway Beach, Ore., where they were created, at state fairs and sold frozen in stores and online nationwide.
- Also in 1942, the Fletcher brothers debuted their “Corny Dogs” at the Texas State Fair. They still call themselves “the original corny dog.”
- Australia, a hot dog sausage on a stick, deep fried in batter, is known as a Dagwood Dog, Pluto Pup, or Dippy Dog, depending on region.
- In Canada, a battered hot dog on a stick is called a “pogo” and is traditionally eaten with ordinary, yellow mustard, sometimes referred to as “ballpark mustard”. It is named after the trademarked name of a Conagra inc. frozen product available in all of the country since the 1960s but whose main market is the province of Quebec.
- Outside of Auckland, a New Zealand Hot Dog is invariably a deep fried battered sausage on a stick that is dipped in tomato ketchup.
- In Japan, the equivalent food is usually called an “American Dog” based on the idea of where the food is believed to originate. It is also called “French Dog” in certain parts of Japan including Hokkaido.
- In South Korea, a corn dog is one of the most popular street foods. A corn dog is usually called “hot dog” in the Korean language (핫도그), creating confusion with a genuine hot dog. A French fry-encrusted corn dog, or “Kogo,” has especially attracted the attention of Western visitors, including vegans (using vegan hot dogs).
- Corn dogs, mini corn dogs and pancake & sausage on a stick are produced at Monogram’s plant in Bristol, IN which cranks out over 1.5 million corn dogs per day!
- Monogram just upgraded its plant and will now make 20 million pounds of mini corn dogs a year.
- In 2015, Monogram sold enough King Cotton hot dogs to equal the weight of 108 African elephants!
Sources:
