Just in time for the July Holidays: Pros share their Tips for the ‘Best’ Hot Dogs… And you may be surprised to learn that the overall theme is, ‘Less is More’. Time to stop over-‘loading’ your dogs!
It’s all about the basics, Dog veterans insist. Focus your attention and lavish your care on the bun and the frank, and you can’t go wrong…
Taste the Dog, again…
Hot dog aficionados insist that simple is best. Which is to say, if you can’t taste the actual sausage and savour the nuttiness of the toasted bun, you’re missing the essence of the whole experience.
And make the most of that commitment! Choose the best-quality dog you can find. That traditionally means pure beef.
Kwinter, of course, touts his family’s 100 per cent premium kosher beef hot dog, as well as its chicken hot dog, made with premium kosher chicken. But thyere are loots of ‘premium’ dogs available. Just take some time to read the labels when you’re at the supermarket. If you’re really serious about your hot dogs, talk to the folks behind the counter in your suprmarket’s meat department, or at the deli and find out what they recommend…
Grill ’em, Danno!
(With apologies to the classic ‘cop’ show Hawaii Five-O…) Chef and restauranteur Cory Vitiello and Sean Kwinter, owner of Kwinter’s Hot Dogs, agree: the only proper way to cook a hot dog is on the grill.
It doesn’t matter whether you prefer them charred or slow-flamed over indirect heat, grilling brings out more flavour in a hot dog than any other cooking process can.
SO… That might explain why summer is celebrated universally as Hot Dog Season!
Toast that bun!
Nothing adds to the enjoyment of a classic dog more than a properly toasted bun. It’s both a flavour and texture thing… And choose a bun that’s at least as long as the dog you’re serving. There’s nothing less satisfying than a bite of dog that doesn’t include both some wienie and some bun.
Toast your buns right there on the grill, over indirect heat. And butter them before butterflying them and laying them face-down on the grid. Keep an eye on them, so they don’t get overdone. Just crisp on the surface and golden is ideal.
“The perfect soft toasted bun can’t wait for the hot dog,” Vitiello cautions. “You’ve got to have your hot dogs cooked and your toppings ready, and then you’re doing the soft toasted bun in butter and you’ve got to eat it. You can’t let them sit around.”
Dress ’em up right!
Vitiello and Kwinter also agree it’s time to get back to basics and stop over-‘loading’ your hot dogs. What started out as a simple wienie on a bun back in 1916 at Nathan Handwerker’s stand on Coney Island has evolved into an almost infinite variety of dishes, with an equally varied range of toppings and themes.
And the pros insist that’s just not right. If you can’t taste and appreciate the dog and the bun for their own classic charms, you’re missing the whole point of ‘having a hot dog’.
Therefore, they insist on just a few simple, original toppings: Garnish as garnish, and condiments as condiments – rather than as the main event.
The list of appropriate add-ons for a proper dog is short and sweet: ketchup, mustard, chipped onions and maybe green relish. Because the latter is already on the table for the hamburgers. But mustard remains the classic (German-inspired) hot dog topping. And it’s allowable, under pro rules, to have more than one kind available for folks who might prefer theirs a little milder or a little hotter.
My take
The overriding lesson we’ve learned today, its time to bring the beloved hot dog full-circle, back to where it started. A simple dish everyone can enjoy and afford.
Enjoy Canada Day, July 1, and Independence Day, July 4, with traditional hot dogs. And kick summer off right by ‘doing’ them right!
~ Maggie J.