Cooking child-hood favorite the "right" way & top quality product - hot dogs! u'll b SURprized!

Looking at hot dogs the other day I saw they were $4-6.50 for 8 dogs (1lb) and not big or anything but I couldn't believe the price considering they used to be the "cheap" food. I found some all beef that were actually much lower in fat than the rest with about 40% of the fat as the others, so I thought I would give it a try. They are also made by a company about 20 miles away, so that is good.

Well I first microwaved them on 30% heat till they were about to split. Then I took a propane torch and browned the outside of the dog. It made it nice and crispy but it did feel "off" but I was trying to do a quick copy of a camp fire dog. I did start grilling burger and hot dog buns on low/med heat (3.5 on a 1-10 burner) - I tried using butter (just slight covering) and it was alright but then I was turned on to mayo for this and found this is probably how it is done at good restaurants. Grill them on low till all is melted and the first signs of golden color, then crank the heat to medium and cook until golden brown but not dry or solid crunchy - just slightly crunchy and hot bread/bun. Oh, the whole time it grilling I have the dog sitting next to the bun. Add a slice of american cheese if you like it (it makes a huge difference and Am Ch seems to be the best choice for dogs, tried many others and this is still great). Put slice on hot bun, put dog on and enjoy. Add a little mustard and about 2-3x as much ketchup (mustard is too strong for me). Now that was good, but I found an even better way.

Take dogs out of fridge, place pan on stove at a "3" (out of 1-10 - or about 9 O'clock on the knob) and let them cook for about 15 mins per side, turn a 1/4, another 10-15 mins, repeat again, and then the last time is when I put the buns on. When doing this you get a very light brown dog that is slightly crispy on the outside and the skin seperates just a little bit (partially b/c it plumps while it cooks and looses some water while cooking). When you turn the heat up for the last ~60-90 seconds of cooking the bun, put the cheese on top of the dog and it will melt perfectly (maybe a little on the pan), then pick up the bun, put it ontop of the dog, pick it up and it is ready to go. It was probably the best texture of the 2 packs I ate in the last 2 months and was the 2nd time I cooked one this way.

Just like a grilled cheese, low and slow seems to be the secret to success to a lot of cooking. I'll have to say that these were even better than camp fire dogs (cooked on a small tree's branch) and those are REALLY tough to beat after canoeing 15 miles and hiking/biking another 15-20 in one day then chowing down on some campfire dogs!

I know hot dogs aren't anything special, but there there have been some major advancements in how they are made. A lot of companies use normal cuts of meat (like rump roast w/ cubed fat to add flavor, or skirt steak + fat) - these aren't the dogs of old days made of entrails, liver, kidney, heart, tounge, etc (well they say they aren't at least) and I think that is the reason the price has gone up. I can say that the texture has changed A LOT in good dogs, it isn't like eating a can of little Vienna sausages, it is a real product that adults will actually like.

If shopping I suggest all beef, though the pork or beef/pork are probably just as good, they are made with quality meat as well unless it is some cheap brand (the package should tell you).

So if you haven't tried on in a while and you need something for an easy meal or late night snack, these are great! I even cooked an entire pack at once till they were perfectly cooked, refrigerated the 6 I didn't eat, then heated them up in microwave at 30% heat for ~2 mins per dog, then put back in hot pan while the bun was cooking (about 4-5 mins) and they were like I had just made them.

Now if I can only find some excellent quality ground beef that tastes like some of the burgers I get in some restaurants (not the national chain restaurants). Part of the secret is to make the patty about 50% larger than what the bun size is (before cooking - so it is a thin burger) and it needs to have at least 15% fat - as at least 1/2 of that cooks out of it when it is thin, but it spreads the flavor throughout the food much better. I might have to try grinding my own, I know I'm going to try making my own dogs now as well!!

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Toast some Cuban bread, slice some beef dogs in half then lay them across all hot into there with a mound of chili, cheese, salsa all that stuff you can really stack it in there.

Sorry, you forgot the Bacon.

You must not forget the strip (or 2) of bacon.

Hot Dogs need bacon.

Yes, they need cheese, but they need bacon first.

Hell man, throw away the Dog and replace with bacon.

Hmm ... Bacon!

P

My favorite way is Nathans hot dogs, thick cut bacon, BBQ sauce and diced onions on a toasted bun. If I’m feeling really crazy I’ll add some melted Velveeta cheese.

I get something around here called a 'bag dog'

Bacon-wrapped, deep-friend, diced onions, mustard-mayo, pepper jack cheese

I've been thinking of doing something similar with bacon but when I make my own dogs (grinding all the meat, my own seasonings, etc). I was thinking instead of using "pork loin" or "pork shoulder" + cubes of pork fat, I'm wondering how bacon would be if it was incorperated into the hot dog and by this I mean grind it up with the beef (if you want a mixed meat dog).

Bacon just has such a distinct flavor and the best thing you can do is keep the grease for cooking other things, that and keeping beef grease (tallow), chicken fat (for making awesome fried chicken - do about 50/50 chicken fat/veggie oil) and then always keep some lamb fat, though that is usually harder to come by as there is less to a lamb - IDK if mutton has the same flavor.

An excellent dish is small "new potatoes" that are cut in half then seasoned and cooked in in lambs fat (add tallow if more oil is needed) and third choice is bacon grease (without the fine bacon crumbs - those stay separated and I mix those into scrambled eggs!!!

Something odd is that I eat worse food now, more of it, (and the "bad stuff as per the news), red meats, animal fats, etc and I weigh less than I did when eating protien shakes, granola bars, fruit shakes, yougurt. I think all that stuff is a scam and i pitty the fools who fall for it.

No if only I can get people away from aspartame. I had an addiction like Trump (well about 1/4 to 1/3 of his when I REALLY needed to be awake) to Diet coke and when I switched to regular, I actually lost about 10-12 lbs, had more energy, drank less of the soda's (about 40% less). I do like me som,e HFCS though over sugar...


We should work on finding out some good recipes to make our own soft drinks (mountain dew is #1, then Coke Classic). I'm designing a small soda dispenser for any fridge, no more buying bottles (no recycling), jsut buy a 5lb CO2 cylinder ($5 to fill every 6 months or so), filtered water, and the syrup - that's it!

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Here's the problem... its a dog not a sausage.

A good, honest, real, old fashioned British style sausage, pork and beef for preference, split in half down its length part way through cooking, then slapped into a lovely fresh baked, then toasted finger bun, with cheese, bacon and condiments to taste and preference, cannot be beat.

A limp, brine soaked, chemical nightmare based on a frankensteined version of a German recipe, however, belongs no where near a human mouth, no matter how many of them are served at baseball stadiums, or sold in bulk from Wally World every year. Popularity does not indicate quality. It merely indicates in some circumstances, the near terminal level of poor taste of many people around the world.

Real sausages make better hot dogs. Also, a hot dog becomes a hot dog, when applied to a long bun. Before it gets there, its just a sausage, or a poor imitation of one, depending on what you have to work with. Don't get me wrong, if a dodgy, damp thing that you got out of a tin or jar is all you CAN get, then by all means, knock it out of the park, do what you can to make it edible. But starting with a good sausage, without artificial flavourings, without the brine coating, is a great start.

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha


I get something around here called a 'bag dog'

Bacon-wrapped, deep-friend, diced onions, mustard-mayo, pepper jack cheese

A bacon wrapped fried dog is called a ripper my friend. Any fried dog actually. Bacon and condiments optional

originally posted by: TinySickTears
A bacon wrapped fried dog is called a ripper my friend. Any fried dog actually. Bacon and condiments optional

In New Jersey a fried hot dog is called a Texas Weiner and it has to be served with chili (no freakin beans), minced raw onion and mustard.

Smiths hot dogs, No other dog comes close. They're a local NW, PA company and they supposedly naturally smoke them.

I heat min up in the mic for about 20 sec, then I impale with a fork and crisp it up over a flame on the range.

I've been eating them with horseradish sauce lately but nothing beats miracle whip, brown mustard and ketchup.

What you're looking for is a local butcher shop that knows their stuff and makes them in-house.

We have one that makes a bacon dog with the bacon inside the dog and the snappy casing.

O.M.G. I should mention the bacon is in-house made too.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I know hot dogs aren't anything special, but there there have been some major advancements in how they are made. A lot of companies use normal cuts of meat (like rump roast w/ cubed fat to add flavor, or skirt steak + fat) - these aren't the dogs of old days made of entrails, liver, kidney, heart, tounge, etc (well they say they aren't at least) and I think that is the reason the price has gone up. I can say that the texture has changed A LOT in good dogs, it isn't like eating a can of little Vienna sausages, it is a real product that adults will actually like. 

In the US foes it mention how the meat was acquired? I'm fussy about my hotdogs, mechanically recovered meat tends to have a gritty texture.

I always check now, hotdogs are awesome and versatile food. It's a shame when you get crap ones.

Totally agree with you on burgers too, 15-20% fat, pressed nice and thin. Butcher's might be the best choice for meat. I once knew a guy who'd use OXO beef stock with his burgers, seemed to work really well. Not sure if he mixed the powdered cube into the meat or baste it during cooking.

Anyways... Thanks for making me hungry

Thanks for all the quality threads.

originally posted by: RAY1990
Totally agree with you on burgers too, 15-20% fat, pressed nice and thin. Butcher's might be the best choice for meat. I once knew a guy who'd use OXO beef stock with his burgers, seemed to work really well. Not sure if he mixed the powdered cube into the meat or baste it during cooking.

You're better off grinding your own beef from cuts of your choice as most ground beef is pre-ground these days. I prefer a mix of brisket and short rib.

a reply to: TrueBrit

There's some quality ground meat kicking around these days TrueBrit, it took a while but I found some with no artificial flavourings or anything, the meat isn't mechanically recovered and they use decent cuts of meat.

Always got a jar kicking around for lazy days.

Not even a named brand either, it's one of those store brands that the likes of ASDA or Tesco do. Good stuff!

I struggle to find decent sausages these days, not for a lack of trying either... The not so local butcher loves me, which is cool. He delivers now before that it was a right job setting up a decent bbq.

So yeah, keep an eye out when shopping. It's not all shrivelled hotdogs in a tin these days.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Too much effort lol, I've considered it a few times though.

The butcher I use will grind fresh for me if I ask, I'm happy with his product and the extra mile he'll go for customers.

Good quality product though his stuff is healthy and lean, not always the best for patties.

Hot dogs are probably the most unhealthy thing you can possibly eat in such a small package. FWIW.

a reply to: RAY1990

Oh sure, there is quality ground meat around, but it rarely comes in a package and at low cost.

The quality gear is, and always has been at the butchers shop!

The point is that those frankenabortions that come in a can, even a "high quality" version, is still an absolute abomination against the tongue, gut and all good sense.

originally posted by: TinySickTears

originally posted by: NarcolepticBuddha


I get something around here called a 'bag dog'

Bacon-wrapped, deep-friend, diced onions, mustard-mayo, pepper jack cheese

A bacon wrapped fried dog is called a ripper my friend. Any fried dog actually. Bacon and condiments optional

Oops I meant BAD dog. Typo.

Never heard of a ripper though.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Tbh anything you didn't prepare or get fresh is a bit of an abomination. I'll only live once though, if it tastes good and doesn't kill me I'll eat it.

Dude, if I cared enough about my food, where it was sourced, how it was killed, butchered and packaged or otherwise processed I'd probably be a vegan or grow my own stuff.

The quality gear is, and always has been at the butchers shop! 

Indeed, seems I'm a bit senseless at times though haha.