Why can’t you order corn dogs at Cook Out? Here’s what we learned

They’re still listed there on the menu, alongside hot dogs and slaw dogs, but try to order a corn dog at Cook Out, and you won’t get a golden-fried, battered dog. All you’ll get is disappointment.

The News & Observer saw discussions on TikTok and Reddit about an inability to order a Cook Out corn dog, so we decided to look into the issue — which some University of North Carolina-Wilmington students seem to have elevated to DEFCON 1 status.

Here’s what we learned.

Cook Out corn dogs

We tried ordering corn dogs at two different Cook Out restaurants in North Raleigh on Friday, Oct. 17.

Employees at both the Strickland and Falls of Neuse stores told us that no corn dogs were available at the moment.

The good news: Corn dogs will be back soon — maybe as early as Saturday, Oct. 18, one worker at the Falls of Neuse Road location said.

A customer service representative at Cook Out corporate reached by phone Friday said some, but not all, locations had corn dogs.

Why can’t you order corn dogs at Cook Out?

Employees at the Raleigh Cook Out locations visited by The N&O said a recall was to blame for the lack of corn dogs.

In late September, Hillshire Brands issued a recall of select State Fair Corn Dogs on a Stick and Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick.

According to Tyson Foods, which owns Hillshire Brands, a “limited number” of products included extraneous pieces of wooden stick within the batter.

The affected foods were only made at one facility, and produced between March 17 and Sept. 26.

Separately, Foster Poultry Farms recalled more than 3.8 million pounds of chicken corn dog and ground turkey on a stick products that may contain pieces of wood in the batter. Some of the Foster Poultry Farms corn dogs were sold at Food Lion stores in North Carolina.

Affected Foster Poultry Farms products were made between July 30 and Aug. 4. Foster Poultry Farms products received complaints and reports of injuries from customers.

Anyone who has any of the recalled corn dog products, regardless of brand, should not consume the foods, recall notices state.

It isn’t clear whether Cook Out purchases corn dogs from one of these companies, or has a different supplier. The Cook Out customer service representative contacted by The N&O didn’t have any details about the recall, but said that the lack of corn dogs at some locations was because of “a distributor thing.”