What do you like nestled in your buns?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Besides the obvious Dachshund and sex jokes, let’s talk about really good hot dogs and sausages. I will ask you to crosspost the best recipes to this thread.

Let’s start with the standard “hot dog”. We shall also discuss sausages, weiners, buns (no sniggers class), condiments and preparation. For instance, hot buns, steamed buns, toasted buns? Boiled, grilled, steamed, split or fried? And last but not least, the big ketchup question.

We have a lot of ground to cover here, so let’s get started. I’ll begin with my own favorites:

[li]The skinny little red “polser” (sausages) sold on every street corner throughout Denmark. Unavailable in the USA, only special tinned weiners from Germany and a local product on the west coast even come close. The wonderful mustard (Alpha Senap) can be reproduced, however.[/li]Danish Style Mustard

(Makes 1/4 cup)

1-2 Tsp Coleman’s brand English hot mustard
3-5 Tbs Guldens Brown mustard
1/4-1/2 Tsp Sugar is optional for Aarfman’s style
[li]Casper’s (Famous Hot Dogs) AKA Spar Sausage Co. in San Leandro, CA are the best I can buy with perhaps the exception of Top Dogs’ (a SF bay area chain) New York Kosher style frankfurter.[/li][li]Nathan’s and Hebrew National are acceptable national brands.[/li]For myself, a hot dog belongs in a regular bun, maybe with sesame seeds. When I eat ordinary hotdogs anything goes, mayonnaise, ketchup, you name it. For a real sausage, I want a good sweet or sourdough sesame French roll, some great mustard and maybe some sauerkraut, onions and relish. Good sausages are just that way. We’ll get into sausage styles and purveyors in later postings. We’ll even have a section devoted to the best mini-weiners and cocktail sausages. Perhaps even a paean to the ever maligned Vienna Sausage!

Finally, we shall also delve into the mysteries of the chili dog. In recent months I have finally perfected chili dog style chili. It is so utterly different from real chili as to be traumatic for the researcher. Fortunately, I will be able to spare you that agony.

Please post early and often…

2

A good ol’ Montreal steamie. Bun…steamed, dog…steamed(preferably Lester’s), mustard, onions, and kraut(although it’s more like coleslaw where I come from). It should cost no more than 75 cents. It should be accomapanied by a greasy bag of homemade fries (topped with plenty of salt and vinegar…and ketchup if you’re in the mood).

Decarie Hot Dog forever!

3

Well, it seems that the hotdogs I had in Mexico just look really nasty to anyone from the US, I don’t get it, they taste really good. Just a regular hotdog but cooked wrapped up in bacon and then you add mayo, ketchup, tomatoes, very small slices of jalapeno, and a little bit of salsa. It’s heaven, especially since you can get them right on the street corners outside of the clubs, they taste so good at like 5AM and it’s like 5 pesos each. That’s only 50 cents american.

Kitty

4

For a hot dog, I like the Chicago style with everything, yet another thing I miss about that city. When it comes to the chili dog, I love the skyliner, a secondary offering of skyline chili out of Cincinnati (although I rarely stray from the 5-way there).

5

I’ve gotten used to the taste of those low-fat turkey dogs, actually. Gotta find ways to eat a little healthier.

And it’s mustard, mustard, mustard for me, by the way.

6

Vegetarian weighs in: vegetarian chili, chopped veggies and cheese.

7

For fun, let’s do a post on mustards.

[li]Agreed, that yellow mustard is for children and sissies.[/li]
[li]Hot dogs cry out for a good brown mustard.[/li]
[li]Real sausages are better with a coarse grain mustard.[/li]
Some of my favorite mustards:

[li]Zatarain’s Creole Style Mustard[/li]
[li]Coleman’s Hot English Mustard[/li]
[li]Morehouse Deli Style Brown Mustard[/li]Feel free to submit your favorites.

8

Bun, grilled hot dog, raw white onion, hot mustard, sweet relish.

[hijack]

Last Saturday, coming back from an open house at UConn, my parents and I stopped at Doogie’s, Home of the 2-Foot-Long-Hot-Dog. I got one with the works. 2 foot long bun, 2 foot long hot dog (Grote and Weigel, a meatpacking company, makes them special for this place), cheese sauce, chili, kraut, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle relish, and bacon. I finished the whole damn thing, and my heart only stopped twice!

[/hijack]

9

Most excellent post there, oh noble one. Chili, cheese and bacon. Man, I gotta admire your stamina. That place should have de-fib packs at every table.

10

My choice for hot dog: Hebrew National. Can’t offend God, ya know. Gotta be boiled. (Can’t let the charred taste of a grilled hot dog interfere.)

Bun: A nice white, soft bun.

Condiments: Non-white clothing: Ketchup and relish :o
White clothing: None

Robin

11

Lightlife’s “Tofu Pups” are very good. And the ingredients aren’t scary, unless you’re the type scared by tofu.

12

Buns: toasted
Dogs: veggie for about 11 years now (President’s Choice, but not the “Too Good to Be True”), grilled over a campfire
Condiments: mustard, cheese, dill pickle

However, I used to love the Oktoberfest sausage with mustard and sauerkraut that is sold at the Waterloo Farmer’s Market.

13

Gotta go with kielbasa.

Fried in a pan with a little water gives the skin that snap
On a potato roll
With red onion, sweet 'n hot brown mustard, and diced tomato.

I love mustard. When I moved and went shopping for the “basics” I bought 4 kinds of mustard.

Anyone ever had a Mulgrew’s chili dog in East Dubuque, IL?

14

Good stuff ChiefWahoo, you’re the only person I’ve heard of besides myself that uses the water in the pan trick for the “snap”.

I throw in a pat of butter and 1/4 cup of water. Then I boil the pan down to a short interval of frying. Yank that puppy out of the pan and into the bun it goes!

Technically, any sausage worth it’s salt should be heated in water first, then pan fried or grilled for the “crust”. Starting a sausage on the grill allows it to dry out too much.

15

Anything that ends in wurst that will fit on a bun is good on a bun.

My favorite however: Those kosher Polish dogs they sell at Price-Costco. I think the manufacturer is Sinai 68(sp?). This is a big full-bodied dog, not one of those puny little weiners.
On a foot-long bun, or Kaiser roll, with sweet-hot mustard, raw chopped white onion, pickle relish, and thin sliced red bell peppers.

Of course, what really belongs on a Kaiser roll is a Philly cheese steak!

16

My only problem with tofu dogs (they taste pretty good, actually), is the way they look when you toss 'em on the grill. They kind of blister (at least the ones i’ve seen)…not very appetizing looking.

17

Mmmmm.
Kielbasa.
And conies/white hots.
Sweet (not hot) Italian Sausage
Italian Rolls.
(Never tried the potato roll. Definitely gonna haveta.)

‘Additives’
Kielbasa & sausage - plain (good kielbasa shouldn’t need any ‘additives’).
Conies/white hots - cheese, and count me among the catsup heretics.

(Serious allergies to onions and peppers so chili and relish are completely out, and any mustard (brown or yellow) just makes me gag. Blecch!)

18

I was thinking about this thread just the other day while I was reading Rysdad’s weiner-dog-on-a-bun thread. So in repayment for resurrecting this little wonder I’m going to post my chili for chili dogs recipe.

Hot Dog Chili
Chili For Chili Dogs
Preparation time: 40 Minutes

Serves: 4-6 People
Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 Lb 80%+ Lean hamburger
1 12 oz Can Beef broth
1 Bag Carroll Shelby’s chili mix
1 Tbs Oil
Dash onion powder
Dash garlic powder
Dash salt
Preparation:

Sear the meat with the oil in a skillet. Pour the beef broth into a medium saucepan and heat. While the hamburger fries up, remove the spice packet from the kit and blend it with some water in a small bowl. Unless you are of a delicate constitution, add the Cayenne pepper packet to the spices. In a separate bowl mix the masa packet with water to form a thin paste. Add a little salt plus some onion and garlic powder to the meat as it cooks.

Once the meat is browned, drain off any fat and add the beef to the broth. If there are only one or two spoonfuls of drippings in the pan add them to the meat and broth. Bring the uncovered saucepan to a fast simmer and reduce the liquid by half. Once the broth has reduced, stir in the spice mixture. Incorporate thoroughly before adding the masa.

The quantity of meat for this recipe has been cut almost in half. This is designed to be a stand up chili that will walk the dog by itself. Do not add the salt packet that comes with the kit. You will blast the chili to smithereens if you do, merely add salt to taste. Reduce the pan to a very low heat and stir in the masa. It is important to linger over the pot and stir it constantly to avoid any lumps. Once the masa is completely incorporated, increase the heat to a low simmer and cook until the chili has thickened. Test for consistency, the chili should not slide off of your spoon too fast (if at all).
Note: Here on the West coast, we have these excellent hot dogs made by Kasper’s. Try to use an old fashioned style of frankfurter. The long skinny type is best. This chili deserves the best hot dog you can find. Warm the buns ahead of time and serve with chopped white onion and some grated Cheddar cheese. I recommend a small swath of chili on the bun then the frank and then some more chili and the rest of your fixings.
[sup]NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WILL BE CROSS POSTED TO MY RECIPE THREAD![/SUP]

19

[QUOTE]
**When it comes to the chili dog, I love the skyliner, a secondary offering of skyline chili out of Cincinnati (although I rarely stray from the 5-way there).[b/]

[QUOTE/]

You just brought tears to the eyes of an ex-pat Cincinnatian. Skyline is the definitive chain of diners Cinti chili, though wannabes abound. The “chili hotdog” is known to longtimers as a Coney; standard condiments are a smear of yellow mustard and a sprinkling of onion under the pillow of finely shredded cheese.

BTW, some afficiandos go for just a “chili-cheese”, leaving the hot dog out of the bun altogether.

I don’t fancy beans in chili, so my standby is a 4-way (w/ Tabasco sprinkled on top). Pure bliss. Good thing I have 8 pts. of Skyline in my freezer still. (I pack it home in an ice chest, repackage and freeze.)

Sorry for the side-trip; back to the OP:

Gulden’s mustard is good, as is Luzianne. I’m a mustard freak, so the tips here are a gold mine.

Not a huge hot dog fan, but Clevelanders converted me to the joys of “keel-BOSSY” while I was up there. Steam/seared in a pan to keep 'em juicy then get the skin crispy. Finishing off on a grill to sear is fine, too. I’m a purist: condiments are a smear of honest mustard and a dollop of sauerkraut.

Damn, now I’m hungry.

Veb

20

I was right with you, up to the heresy part. Catsup? Thumbs down. Mustard, raw onions.

[hijack] At the NASCAR Cafe in Nashville, my Dad and I were ordering cheeseburgers, and he asked for fried onions on his. The server says “No, no fried onions.” May Dad looks at him for a second and says, “Oh, I’m sorry; did you lose the recipe?” [/hijack]