Probate Court Hog Dogs

A pulled-pork-stuffed hot dog fried in cornmeal batter and finished with a melted cheddar disc pressed on top like an official wax seal. Mustard signs off in a flourish, because nothing this messy should leave the courtroom without a signature.

Serves 8 · as served on Bluesky ↗

Something about "hog" and "dog" bumping right up against each other in that string of words got my grill brain going before I even hit the legal part. Where I come from, "probate court" means paperwork, seals, and a signature nobody argues with, so that's the flavor profile I built here, if a hot dog can be said to have a flavor profile. I'm stuffing all-beef dogs with pulled pork, dunking the whole business in a cornmeal batter that fries up crisp as a fresh court filing, and topping each one with a disc of melted cheddar pressed on like a wax seal on a will. A flourish of mustard signs off across the top like somebody's John Hancock. My sister-in-law Deb calls any dish this messy "a whole legal proceeding," and I never understood her till I made this one. Bring plenty of napkins, because nobody reads the fine print before they eat it anyway.

Ingredients

Fridge

• 2 cup pulled pork (shredded)
• 8 piece all-beef hot dogs
• 1¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 piece egg
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (cut into rounds)
• yellow mustard (for drizzling)

Pantry

• ½ cup barbecue sauce
• 1½ cup cornmeal
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
• 8 piece wooden skewers (for stuffing)

Spice rack

• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the pulled pork with the barbecue sauce, stir until evenly coated, and set aside.
2. Butterfly each of the hot dogs lengthwise without cutting all the way through, pack the pulled pork mixture into the pocket, and push a wooden skewer through the length of each one to hold it shut.
3. In a wide bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper.
4. Whisk in the buttermilk and egg until you've got a thick, smooth batter about the consistency of pancake batter.
5. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, heavy pot to 350 degrees F.
6. Dip each stuffed hot dog into the batter, turning to coat it all over, then lower it carefully into the hot oil and fry, turning once, until deep golden brown. ⏱ 4 min
7. Lift the corn dogs onto a wire rack to drain while you cut the sharp cheddar cheese into rounds just smaller than the top of each corn dog.
8. Lay a cheddar round on top of each warm corn dog and let the residual heat melt it down into a glossy seal, then finish each with a flourish of yellow mustard drawn across the top like a signature. ⏱ 2 min

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