Two Hands Corn Dogs Offers New Flavors, Styles and Shapes to the State Fair Favorite

Except for the addition of a stick, corn dogs probably have not changed much since they were invented in 1939. Some are made fresh, like those at the Fletcher’s Corny Dogs stands at the Texas State Fair. Others sit in freezers for those nights when we’ve come down from being drunk just enough to operate a microwave. But they’re all pretty much the same thing.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with changing a traditional recipe to explore uncharted territory. It’s something every chef should try to do with their signature dishes. Without experimentation, we wouldn’t have things like pizza rolls, Doritos Locos tacos and the McRib.

One place that puts a much needed twist on a very traditional Texas idea has started garnering a serious following. Two Hands Fresh Corn Dogs takes the breaded and deep-fried, all-beef sausage on a stick and adds some new flavors and toppings with a Korean cooking style. Four locations beckon: the Irving Mall, Asia Times Square in Grand Prairie, Murphy and Arlington. If you live in Dallas, be prepared for a drive.

The franchise started in Los Angeles and has expanded across the Southwest and South, where corn dogs roam like buffalo once did across the lost American prairie. The fact that it’s Korean fried and available as the “Classic Dog” or in a variety of other flavors makes a visit to one the North Texas shops worth the trip. It’s lighter than the usual breaded corn dog and has a great crunchy texture and buttery taste all by itself that finishes with the meaty taste of all-beef sausage.

Two Hands also offers more than just ketchup and mustard for toppings. (Ketchup should never be considered for corn dog toppings.) There are seven varieties, and I tried five of them along with a “Classic Dog,” followed by a very long nap. 

The most popular, based informally on the choices made by the sizable line of people waiting ahead of me, is the Potato Dog, a starch-covered dish that looks like Willy Wonka made an Everlasting Gobstopper big enough to merit adding a stick. Potato and corn dog are an interesting pairing, since the potato is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and the tastes goes great with a corn dog. It’s like someone combined the usual corn dog and fries combo meal in one convenient form for eating. It’s just hard to see myself eating a whole one unless it’s right before bedtime or any setting that doesn’t require me to operate heavy machinery while I’m digesting it.

My favorite was the Crispy Rice Dog, which is just what it sounds like. It’s a Korean fried corn dog covered in crispy rice. The big selling point is the sugary coating. The Crispy Rice Dog is a complex, interesting mix of flavors and textures that tastes like a beignet on the outside and an all-beef hot dog on the inside of the battered treat. It starts sweet and finishes savory, and it’s amazing that a corn dog can do something like that so well. You can also get it with ketchup and mustard as a standard option, but tell them to just give you some packets or nix it altogether because it’s doesn’t need any help.

The Injeolmi Dog refers to the Korean sweet rice cake that’s not for anyone with a gluten allergy. It’s also a great choice because of the way it mixes the sweet and savory, but it does so differently from the Crispy Rice choice. The sweet side of it isn’t as strong, so it mixes more with the savory part in a unique way. It’s worth a try, and it’ll make you explore more of the delicious dishes that come from Korean cuisine.

The Two Hands Dog is a good try for a different flavor, but it didn’t wow me like the others. This corn dog is spattered with sweet ranch sauce. I’ve got nothing against ranch, but it just doesn’t taste as good when it’s warm.

The Spicy Dog is my least favorite. I love spicy, but like a lot of “spicy” fast food, with this dog the spice just comes from the sauce, and it’s completely maxed by the crushed Flaming Hot Cheetos dust that coats the whole thing. The kind of spicy you get from Korean is some of the best spicy food in the world, but this just replicates what fast food considers spicy.

The good news is that you’ve got plenty of other choices that are much more satisfying and delicious. The only thing that could make Two Hands perfect is if each location had some kind of mobile nap station. 

Two Hands Corn Dogs, 2625 W. Pioneer Parkway, No. 213, Grand Prairie.