Meet the Hot Dog You’ll Be Eating for the Rest of Your Life
The hot dog could use a makeover. For too long we’ve simply tossed a frank on the grill, set out a line of plastic condiment containers, and hoped we didn’t char the buns. The hot dogs are what you make for the kids, something that you hope they eat a few bites of in between handfuls of chips.
But hot dogs don’t have to be an afterthought. They can be dynamic showstoppers. Rather than one note (read: meat), you can have yourself a hot dog symphony in just two simple steps. To be a hot dog wizard, you’re going to spiralize the franks and then dust them with BBQ seasoning. It takes 10 minutes of prep, but the results will be life altering.
What You’ll Need:
- A package of wooden/metal skewers
- A package of 10 hot dogs
- A package of 8 buns (bun people please talk to the hot dog people to settle the standard package size)
- A cutting board
- 1/3 cup Rub Some Butt™ rub
Step 1: Spiralize
While you’re letting your grill warm up, you can prep your hot dogs. In order to spiralize your franks, you’re going to insert the pointed end of a wooden or metal skewer into the end of the hot dog. Then slide it straight through the center and out the other end. Lay the frank flat on a cutting board.
With your hot dog successfully kebab-ed, take a paring knife and place it ½-inch from the end. Slice at a 45-degree angle until your knife reaches the skewer. With your non-cutting hand slowly spin the hot dog away from you and continue cutting at an angle until you’re ½-inch from the other end. Cut and rotate slowly. Don’t rush because you don’t want to sever the skin completely. Don’t worry, you’ll butcher the first dog (pun slightly intended), but you’ll have the technique down by the third one.
Your hot dog can now stretch like an accordion, but you’ll want to handle it gently as you’ve loosened the skin – the very thing that keeps a hot dog together. But why have you spiralized? The act of cutting the skin increases the surface area that comes into contact with the grill. This makes the hot dog crispier and provides a series of running grooves that can hold condiments more effectively than the rounded shape of a traditional hot dog. But we’re not going to add condiments – we’re going to add BBQ seasoning.
Step 2: Rub Some
Think of yourself as a snow machine on a movie set. Grab a pinch of the Rub Some Butt™ rub and let it sprinkle evenly over the top of your spiralized hot dog. Rotate the hot dog gently and continue sprinkling. You want to see rub adhering to the hot dog, but not coating it like batter.
Grill your prepared hot dogs over medium heat. A few turns to make sure they’re heating evenly and take them off when you’ve got that beautiful reddish brown sheen. Now this is the moment of flavor alchemy because you’ve essentially baked in the condiments. The Rub Some Butt™ gets punch from mustard flour, a bit of sweetness from brown sugar, and a bright tangy pop from apple cider vinegar. Like the cheese-filled hot dog, you’ve created an entirely new weiner category.
Your hot dog has graduated to the flavor level of sausage and question why you’ve never added rub to your hot dogs before this moment. As you reach for your second dog, one thing is certain; you’ll be doing this again.
