A World First: Sushi Corn Dogs!

Disclosure

I think we mentioned before about how we got our kids to enjoy eating fish (well, salmon) very early in life by calling it “orange chicken”.  Since they love Chinese food it was an easy sell.  Fortunately now that they’re a bit older, they are more willing to try new foods as long as we don’t force them to continue eating something they really don’t like.  In fact, I can’t remember the last time we made mac-n-cheese or nuggets.  More often than not the special request is some type of oil & vinegar salad or grilled chicken!

Sushi probably isn’t something that most kids will try.  Fish is a four-letter word to many kids, much less raw fish. One of our daughters has taken to the ‘mild’ sushi at our local buffet (meaning the cooked versions), but the other isn’t much of a fan.  She tolerates it, but doesn’t ask for it.  But, what if I could ‘train’ her to like it in the same manner that we got her to like salmon?!   That’s where my world-first idea came from – Corn Dog Sushi!

What kid doesn’t enjoy a thick, corn bread covered hot dog on a stick?!  If only we could tweak it a little bit to acclimate her to the look of a sushi roll, maybe she wouldn’t be so hesitant about trying them.  Off to Sam’s Club to pick up a box of frozen corn dogs to experiment with!

I have to admit, I spent way too much time figuring this out in my head to make them perfect.  I’ll take you through the steps (and recipe) for the first one, and then post a couple more recipes I created.  You’ll be amazed with the results, and your guests will be amazed by the taste!

First, I chose to use the baking method for cooking the corn dogs.  I wanted the exterior to be firm and I’m sure microwaving would not have given me that result.  Deep-frying would probably have worked, but in the interest of keeping calories down, baking was best.
With the corn dogs in the oven, it was time to gather all the ingredients we’d need for the project.  I know this looks like a lot, but remember, this is for three different recipes, so don’t panic (yet).

Our next step is to remove the hot dog part of the corn dog from the outer breading.  This is accomplished by cutting both ends, removing the stick and pushing the hot dog out of the middle, creating a hollow tube.

I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.  I’ve never been a proponent of too many toppings on my hot dogs; I’ve always been a ketchup and onions guy.  But for this project we’re going all out. I picked out a couple famous regional recipes for hot dogs and have created a ‘sushi’ version in their likeness.  First up, Chicago Style! This requires onions, relish, dill pickles, a short pepper, tomatoes and celery or poppy seeds.  We’ll only be using half of a hot dog per tube, so I quarter them lengthwise and save the rest.  Stuff the hot dog, pickle slice, onion slice, tomato slice and pepper slice into the tube.

Each corn dog casing will yield three sushi, so trim the ends neatly and then cut into 3 even slices.

Spray the outside of the roll with some oil, then roll the edges in celery seed or poppy seed.

Plate and put a dollop of relish on the top of each roll and drizzle with thinned yellow mustard.

Chicago-Style Corn Dog Sushi (makes 12 rolls)
4 Country Ribbon Corn Dogs
Onion
Tomato
Dill Pickle
Sweet Relish
Yellow Mustard
Short Pepper (Jalapeno used here)
Celery/Poppy seed
Spray Oil

And there you have it.  Three perfect Chicago-Style Corn Dog Sushi Rolls!  Of course, we can’t let the other famous type of hot dog feel left out.  So next are some famous New York style dogs! These are much simpler, requiring only sauerkraut, onions, tomatoes and mustard.  The hard part is getting the sauerkraut into the tube. Good thing I kept some of the corn dog sticks lying around!

Viola!  A little tomato garnish and the thinned mustard and we’re done with those!

New York-Style Corn Dog Sushi (makes 12 rolls)
4 Country Ribbon Corn Dogs
Onion
Tomato
Yellow Mustard
Sauerkraut

Last, but definitely not the least, we need a ‘Midwest Style’.  What better than bacon and cheddar?! Turns out the best way to get bacon bits into the tube is to pour them in, place your hands over each end and shake to even it out.  Then pack it down with the aforementioned corn dog stick!

Midwest-Style Corn Dog Sushi (makes 12 rolls)
4 Country Ribbon Corn Dogs
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Slice Bacon or Bacon Bits

But no, we’re not done yet!  You see, we have the ends of the corn dog we cut off and I really don’t want them to go to waste.  DING!  Idea time! Throw them into a blender, add a tablespoon of milk to moisten (water would probably work too) and before you know it…

you have the perfect ‘rice’ base for sashimi!

So was all the effort worth it?  The kids LOVED it!

And to keep in the holiday spirit, my wife even showed up in her corny winter sweater to celebrate our concoction (get it? corny? corn dogs? I slay myself…)

This turned out so well that we took tons of photos.  Here’s a couple more of the better ones!

We found Country Ribbon Corn Dogs at our local Sam’s Club and they worked perfectly for this project. Check the frozen section at your local grocery or warehouse store for availability.

Pick some up at the store so you can try them out for yourself. Be sure to wear your own ‘corny’ holiday shirt or sweater to get yourself in the mood (yeah, I know…old joke). Feel free to share your photos and opinions on their Facebook and Twitter pages; we love to see you enjoying their products.

Update (11/2022): Thanks to creatively introducing our daughters to different foods, they’ve grown to love all kinds of things a lot of kids don’t. One of their favorite foods is real sushi!

What tricks do you use to get kids to try different foods?