Coconut Hot Dog

Yes, you read that right. Coconut. On a hot dog. And it works way better than it has any right to.

Frankfurters get coated in a light beer batter made with flour, cornstarch, and white pepper, then sprinkled with chopped coconut and given a final dusting of flour before they hit the fryer. The result is a shatteringly crisp, golden shell with little bits of toasted coconut poking out everywhere.

A quick finish in the oven makes sure they’re piping hot all the way through. Serve them up with your favorite mustard or a sweet chili dipping sauce and watch people do a double-take before reaching for seconds.

Pro Tips

• Use room temperature beer for the batter. Cold beer makes it too thick and the coating won’t fry up as light and crispy.
• Don’t make the batter too thin. Add the beer gradually until you get a consistency that clings to the hot dog without dripping right off.
• Fry in batches of two or three max. Overcrowding drops the oil temperature and gives you a soggy, greasy coating instead of a crisp one.