Cooking Techniques For Hot Dogs And Sausages, With Great Recipes, Including Recipes For Making Sausages From Scratch
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." Anonymous
The word sausage covers a wide range of foods, typically they are ground meats with spices and seasonings, often stuffed into a casing and shaped like a cylinder. But many sausages are served as patties, especially breakfast sausages, so if you include patties in the category, well then hamburgers are a form of sausage and as long as we're being inclusive, why not meatballs, meatloaf, kofta, paté, and terrines? Make the sausage and shape it any way you like, with or without the casings!
Hot Doggerel
Why are hot dogs so popular? They are fast, kid friendly, they have saved many harried parents with no time to cook, and they just plain taste good. They also connect us with our childhood, our parents, and our hometown. The are also a cultural leveler because you can find anyone in line at a hot dog stand, from wealthy captains of industry to powerful politicians to movie stars to laborers and the homeless.
Here's an idea for your next big cookout: There are scores of recipes for serving hot dogs and many hole in the wall hot dog stands have earned life-long followers with their unusual house style. Interestingly, many cities and regions have evolved a local recipe that is their signature breed. It has become part of their area culture and they cannot stand to eat them any other way. For them the unique scent and taste of the genre they know and love conjures powerful memories. Not counting the recipes unique to only one or two joints, there's The Coney Island Hot Dog and its brother the New York Pushcart Dog, The Chicago Hot Dog, The Detroit Coney and its sibling The Flint Coney, The Cincinnati Cheese Coney, The Rochester Garbage Plate, The West Virginia Slawdog, The Seattle Cream Cheese Dog, The North Jersey Italian Dog, The Texas Wiener, The Rhode Island New York System Hot Wiener, The Sonora Dog, and The Weenie Royale.
How to cook hot dogs
You thought it was simple right? Well it is, if you know what you're doing. Here are the best strategies for char dogs on the grill, on the griddle, split dogs, dirty water dogs, steamers, and nukes.
All-Purpose Hot Dog Chili
In other articles I have attempted to come close to the classic regional chili sauce flavors. Here's my favorite recipe for hot dog meat sauce.
No ketchup on hot dogs
Some people will tell you that there is a ketchup controversy. There is no controversy. Many hot dog vendors in Chicago, renowned for their worship of the hot dog, won't do it. If you want ketchup on your dog, they'll point you to the bottles used for garnishing French fries and tell you to "go rune it yourself."
Rating all-beef frankfurters
The all-beef frank is the premier frank in this cook's opinion, and here are my ratings of more than 30 of them in a blind tasting.
What's in a hot dog?
You're not supposed to ask, but now that you have... Also, here are the facts about nitrates and nitrites. And did you know that the frank is only about half the calories on the sandwich?
Recipe: The Classic Chicago Dog
In Chicago, where hot dog stands far out number hamburger joints, there is one and only one classic recipe, and very little variation from it. It is the perfect hot dog.
Recipe: The New York Hot Dog
The story of American hot doggery begins on Coney Island with Nathan's Famous griddled dog and moves a dozen miles north to Midtown for the Sabrett with the classic orange sweet tart onion sauce on their pushcarts.
Recipe: The West Virginia Slawdog
Skip the sauerkraut and ladle the cole slaw on top of the meat sauce.
Recipe: The Detroit Coney
Detroit is home of the Coney Dog, smothered in an all meat chili made from beef heart. Here is the recipe for the Classic Detroit Coney.
Recipe: The Cincinnati Cheese Coney
Smother the frank with boiled chili, add onions, and then pile on the shredded cheddar.
Recipe: Sandra's Candied Cocktail Wienies
This is the famous recipe in Mom's recipe box. Don't forget the frilly toothpicks.
Recipe: Meathead's Ultimate Hot Dog
Please, don't tell anyone in Chicago I like Japanese pickled ginger on my hot dogs.
The hot dog creation myths
Who invented it, where did it come from, how did it get on the bun, and how did it get its name? Fact, not fiction.
Top dogs: Chicago's best hot dog stands
There are more than 1,800 hot dog stands in Meathead's home town, Chicago, far more than the sum of McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Some Chicago hot dog stands are practically institutions, decades old, handed down over the generations, with a devoted local following and diaspora of fans around the nation who make the pilgrimage back as soon as they get off the plane. Here are my faves.
Chasing the dogs: What to drink with a hot dog
Marlene Dietrich is reputed to have said that hot dogs with Champagne was her favorite meal, and I heartily agree, but there are other very good options.
My ride in the Wienermobile
In 2009 this hot dog got to ride shotbun in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. How cool is that?
Starting a hot dog stand
With very little up front, a good location, and long hours, you can make a good living.
Cooking sausages
Making sausages from scratch
...more to come (to be notified when new recipes and other articles are published, be sure to subscribe to our free, spam free, email newsletter "Smoke Signals").
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