Sonic Vs Culver’s: Who Has The Best Corn Dog

Quick, think of a carnival food. If your mind went to funnel cakes, fresh-squeezed lemonade, or deep-fried Oreos, you’ve made solid choices. However, for me, the ultimate fair food is the corn dog. It combines the joys of a hot dog, deep frying, and food on a stick in harmony rarely rivaled.

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Corn dogs aren’t just for after a spin on the Tilt-a-Whirl, though, as two of your favorite fast food chains offer them on their menus. That’s right, even in the middle of winter, you can enjoy a hot dog on a stick at either Sonic or Culver’s.

Here at Mashed, we want to help satisfy your every craving with the best options available, which is why I put these corn dogs to the test. I tried out both to find out whether Sonic or Culver’s serves the superior dog. Read on to find out which corn dog earns the blue ribbon and which is a far cry from your fairground favorite.

Corn dog doesn’t exactly scream Culver’s, but that’s because it’s an item on the kid’s menu. For just $6.29, you can get a corn dog, crinkle-cut fries, a small drink, and a scoop of custard. If sides aren’t your thing and you’re craving just the dog, Sonic has you covered for $2.49. However, if you’re looking for value, Culver’s is the way to go. A similar order at Sonic — featuring small fries, a small drink, and cup of soft serve — is over $10. The good news is that you don’t have to search too far for your corn dogs, as the item is a regular on both restaurants’ menus.

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Nutritionally, Culver’s and Sonic’s corn dogs are pretty similar. Culver’s lists its corn dog at 240 calories with 14 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, and an eye-watering 500 milligrams of sodium. Sonic’s version registers 230 calories, 13 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, and 480 milligrams of sodium. While Sonic’s corn dog comes in with less calories, slightly less fat, and a little less sodium, the difference is negligible, and so they’re pretty comparable when it comes to the nutritional details. 

A corn dog without breading is just a sad hot dog on a stick. Thankfully, Sonic nailed their corn dog breading. Crispy on the outside and fried to a golden brown, the outer shell gives way to a sweet inner layer. I enjoy a rich, golden cornbread, and that’s what springs to mind when sampling the breading alone. The breading also wasn’t too dense and provided a nice corn-to-dog ratio.

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I also like to consider myself something of an expert on hot dogs thanks to some extensive taste testing. While the breading is important in a corn dog, the hot dog should still be the star of the show, and Sonic’s hot dogs are made of a delicious beef. I enjoy beef-based franks because they pack a lot more flavor than a wiener made of mechanically separated meat — think Oscar Meyer Wieners. The saltier beef sausage works well in tandem with the sweet breading to create a balanced overall flavor in Sonic’s dog. 

If this were a blind taste test, I’m not sure I’d have immediately been able to tell these corn dogs apart. In fact, their outer layer of breading is nearly identical. Crispy, golden brown, and appropriately sweet, Culver’s didn’t give an inch in the breading category, which left the hot dogs as the one major difference between the two chains. 

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Both Sonic and Culver’s use the same sized dogs, so there’s no real difference in length or circumference. There is, however, a small but important difference in taste. Culver’s utilizes a hot dog that’s lighter in color and is made of pork, as opposed to the beef frank employed by Sonic. Pork dogs can be plenty tasty and are a definite step up from poultry-based franks, but they don’t pack the same level of flavor as their beef counterparts. Still, this is a more than serviceable corn dog that checks the major boxes and doesn’t botch anything. 

While the stick is obviously not an edible element, it is an important factor in the makeup of a corn dog. A stick that’s too long leaves you breaking off teeth early in the eating process, while a too-short stick is a recipe for a fumbled dog. Both Sonic and Culver’s avoided any stick-related pitfalls, making each bite a comfortable experience.

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As you can see from the photos, these corn dogs are nearly identical. They’re the same size, are served on sticks of the same length, and their breading is nearly indistinguishable. That leaves the real difference to the hot dogs, which is where Sonic gets the edge.

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The beef frank is simply more flavorful than its pork counterpart. Where the cornmeal breading offers a nice sweetness, the slightly saltier beef hot dog provides a nice contrast. I paired my corn dogs with ketchup and mustard — alternating between the two — and felt that Sonic’s corn dog stood out against the condiments more than Culver’s, but only barely.

In the end, these are two good but not amazing corn dogs. If I had to guess, both chains rely on frozen corn dogs because these are burger joints that offer corn dogs for the kids. If you’re craving something more in your corn dog experience, you’d do best to wait for the county fair, but if you’re craving a corn dog this instance, you can’t really go wrong with either Sonic or Culver’s, though there are other corn dog options out there. 

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I braved a Wisconsin snowstorm to pick up a corn dog from both Culver’s and Sonic. I brought all of the food home, where I took some quick pictures, before staring my taste test. I broke a portion of each dog down to sample the breading and franks individually. My assessments were based on taste, texture, consistency, and overall enjoyment relative to my standard for a corn dog. Neither Sonic nor Culver’s was aware of this review when preparing my food.

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