History

Pronto Pups arrived at the Minnesota State Fair in 1947 from Oregon, where the brand had been invented by George and Versa Boyington at Rockaway Beach in 1939. Jack Karnis brought the stand to the fair that first year and sold 106,000 pups; the Karnis family has run it without missing a fair since, and Greg Karnis now operates eight booths racking up over $2 million in 12 days. The fair runs the last 12 days of August into Labor Day; the Pronto Pup line averages a 15 minute wait at peak hours despite multiple sales windows running constantly.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 8 pupsHands-on 25 minTotal 35 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 8 hot dogs, all-beef preferred
  • 8 wooden skewers or chopsticks
  • 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, 1 cup whole milk
  • Neutral oil for deep frying
  • Yellow mustard to serve

Method

  1. Pat hot dogs completely dry. Thread each onto a skewer leaving 3 inches of handle.
  2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a tall narrow glass.
  3. Add egg and milk. Whisk to a thick batter the consistency of pancake batter.
  4. Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot to 350F.
  5. Dip a hot dog into the batter glass, rotating to coat completely. Lower carefully into the oil.
  6. Fry 3 to 4 minutes, rolling once, until deep gold. Drain on a rack. Mustard only, no ketchup.

Tip from the editors. Tall narrow glass is the dipping vessel that matters; coats the dog evenly and uses half the batter of a flat dish. Refill from the bowl as needed.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat pronto pup

Pronto Pup in Minneapolis

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