In our Celebrate the Texas State Fair series, this post comes from a guest author! I know her as Stoney, but you can find her on Facebook as Live Free or Pie or on Instagram as LiveFreeorPie_Dallas. That means we have worked in brownies, pies and corn dogs in just two posts. Where is the tilt-a-whirl?
While many claim fame to the dubious throne of corn dog royalty, the story of the Fletcher brothers and the iconic Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dog is by far the most famous. Sold for the first time at the Texas State Fair in 1942, the hand-dipped creation on a stick has been outselling other fair fare (haha, see what I did there – ALL THE RHYMES!) for 75 years.
Carl and Neil Fletcher, two former vaudevillians, tried many times and finally succeeded at getting a batter recipe that would stick to the hot dog, and have been serving them at the Texas State Fair ever since. While others claim they invented the corn dog, the Fletcher brothers were the first to make a successful commercial venture out of this State Fair staple. Every year, the Fletcher’s Corny Dog stands at the State Fair sell over 600,000 dogs during fair season. In addition to the tried-and-true standard Corny Dog, you can also get a veggie Corny Dog and a jalepeno and cheese Corny Dog. You can’t go wrong with any of these choices from Fletcher’s.
Rambin, James. “The Story of Fletcher’s, America’s ‘Original’ Corn Dog.” Eater Dallas. July 10, 2014. Accessed September 12, 2017. https://dallas.eater.com/2014/7/10/6189947/the-story-of-fletchers-americas-original-corn-dog.
Tribe, Kristen. “Fletcher’s Corny Dogs.” American Profile. September 16, 2007. Accessed September 12, 2017. http://americanprofile.com/articles/fletchers-corny-dogs/.
