The hot dog goes posh
Post categories: Food trends
| 16:30 UK time, Thursday, 26 July 2012
The hot dog, beloved by American baseball fans, is probably not your idea of high-end gastronomy. But now a brave band of British charcutiers are taking the hot dog by the ears and shaking it about to unleash an artisan frankfurter that鈥檚 delicious, ethical and even healthy.
One charcutier poshing up the dog is Graham Waddington who works from his Gloucestershire workshop. He combines meat, herbs and spices into a machine known as a bowl cutter which produces the frankfurter鈥檚 characteristic silky smooth texture. 鈥淯sing a bowl cutter you don鈥檛 need to add stabilisers and emulsifiers,鈥 he says.
Is the dog about to have its gourmet day? Image: Bubbledogs
Unlike industrially made hot dogs which often contain as little as 30% meat, Graham鈥檚 are around 90% meat. To make his classic smoked 鈥榃einer鈥 (Viennese sausage) he mixes rose veal with native breed pork and beef and smokes it all over beech and apple wood. Other items in his posh dog repertoire are a Strasbourg 鈥淜nack鈥 and a truffle and porcini frankfurter. Incidentally, he prefers to call his products British frankfurters rather than hot dogs. 鈥淗ot dog denotes all manner of atrocious things,鈥 he laughs.
Whatever you call them, Graham鈥檚 dogs have already strayed as far as London and are now being served in high-end bowling alleys and sold in department stores, enabling customers to recreate the quintessential American snack vibe at home.
Posh dogs are finding their way into smart restaurants too. This autumn a restaurant called Bubbledogs is opening in London selling just champagne and hot dogs -听homemade buns, ten types of hot dog听and a range of dressings that includes truffle mayonnaise. If that all sounds like gastronomic gimmickry think again. Bubbledog鈥檚 chef-owner James Knappett knows his sausages 鈥 his CV includes not only Per Se in New York, but also Noma in Copenhagen, and Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about turning upside down our idea of what鈥檚 high-brow and what鈥檚 low-brow,鈥 says Graham. 鈥淚f a frankfurter is made from proper ingredients there鈥檚 no reason it shouldn鈥檛 be a great food. We鈥檝e seen the gourmet burger hit the street and restaurants. Now it鈥檚 the dog鈥檚 turn.鈥
The posh dog is equally comfortable at home, whether in the kitchen or on the barbie. After you鈥檝e boiled your frankfurters brown them in a frying pan (or on the barbecue), then add the dressing of your choice. The classic accompaniment is sauerkraut. Douse your dog with some kraut and a dollop of mild mustard and you could be in Vienna. Or clothe it with fried onions and ketchup. For a jazzed-up ketchup, make a dressing of sun-dried tomato pesto mixed with Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, chilli, garlic and olive oil.
I never thought I could fall in love with the hot dog. But I reckon the posh dog has legs. Have you tried one yet?
Hot dog round-up
Make hot dogs the centrepiece of a tasty hotpot, as in Allegra McEvedy鈥檚 recipe Hot dog hotpot.
Or try Simon Rimmer鈥檚 Corn dogs recipe for hot dogs the American way - wrapped in corn, then deep fried.听
For a fantastic dressing try barbecuing onions, beer and mustard as in this recipe for Hot hounds.
How do you dig your dogs?
Comment number 1.
At 27th Jul 2012, Emma Richards wrote:Sigh... I dig my dogs with chips and sadly we can't have one of these with chips at the Olympics - the travesty!
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Comment number 2.
At 28th Jul 2012, bolly315 wrote:Usually avoid them like the plague unless making dog & bean hotpot for kids' camping trips. But the advent of Graham's posh dogs will inspire me to make more room for dogs in my kitchen!
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Comment number 3.
At 28th Jul 2012, AnneeRichardson wrote:Interesting idea for a food makeover - one to try for the kids who may not realise I am slipping something actually healthy past them!
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Comment number 4.
At 29th Jul 2012, mayfair69 wrote:they have been doing high end hot dogs in USA for years.
how they are cooked is important grilling instead of boiling is only way.
natural casing gives you great snap when biting the dog.
Only kids put ketchup on hot dogs, no matter how posh the ketchup.
As for topping to go with a dog those are what makes the experience.
the bun must be just right soft but not to hard and toasted if like.
As for toppings a simple non spicy mustard is the simple way to go.
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Comment number 5.
At 30th Jul 2012, matt wrote:Somebody else has been doing 'high-end hot dogs' for a while; the Germans. For several centuries, in fact. If you want a decent one, go to Lidl.
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Comment number 6.
At 30th Jul 2012, Beauty_Bug wrote:A hot dog is a hot dog for my money's worth but I am thrilled they are putting great ingredients in them!
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Comment number 7.
At 30th Jul 2012, looksalot wrote:Mmmm! Love the hot dog picture - looks delicious.
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Comment number 8.
At 7th Aug 2012, markcjenner wrote:Having actually tasted Grahams "British Frankfurter" (amongst other fabulous products), I can't praise them highly enough. Great ingredients produced with artistry and care mean fabulous taste!!.
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