a lot in this thread will think I'm evil--- I sometimes put ketchup on hotdogs.
even more evilly---I have a maker of hotdogs making custom hotdogs for me.
The modification I've made is as follows---
--if you cut any regular hot dog in half, the cross cut is circular in shape. Aesthetically pleasing, etc. But very inefficient when putting toppings on a hot dog.
--The hotdogs that are custom made for me are such that if you cut them in half, the cross section isn't circular in shape......
--instead it is shaped like a 'U'
--the hotdog itself looks a bit like a canoe. It is still easy to cook. With the 'U' dog on a hotdog bun with hollow part facing up you can really fill these dogs with toppings
----chili dogs, cheese dogs, onions, etc, etc
----in addition when grilling them--cook hollow side first on the grill then turn the dog so hollow is facing upward....at that point you can fill the dog with cheese, finely diced seasoned steak, etc(picture a hotdog filled with cheese and steak)
these dogs cook faster. And a 1/4 pound 'U' dog looks a lot bigger than a 1/4 pound regular hot dog, due to the hollowed out space.
you haven't enjoyed a hot dog until you've had a canoe shaped hotdog that is filled with finely diced grilled steak, onions, and provolone. With the cheese melted while canoe shaped dog is hollow side up on the grill
I've never heard of tomatoes on hot dogs. But then sometimes I don't even bother with buns. I just roll it up in a piece of white bread. With mustard, onions, and plenty of ketchup. I hope I'm not making anyone sick.
I'd like to see a new Dirty Harry movie (with an Eastwood replacement, of course) about the hunt for a terrorist who runs through Chicago hot dog joints squeezing ketchup on everyone's hot dogs. Lots of chilling scenes of red ketchup everywhere, and Harry madder than you have ever seen him.
Rise of the Killer Tomatoes - the Ketchup Kronicles!
Not just Chicago. My wife is from New York and she thinks ketchup on hotdogs is blasphemous. The hotdog thing in New York isn't quite as cultish in Chicago. It's more of a Jewish thing. Ketchup on a good kosher dog isn't as blasphemous as mayo (which would render it inedible according to Leviticus), it's just tacky.
I grew up eating hotdogs with ketchup. I think it's a southern thing. In the south, hot dogs are not held regarded with the same reverence as they are in Chicago and New York. Southerners put ketchup on hotdogs because they're usually eating crappy hotdogs. When I come home to visit family, I don't eat hotdogs at all. There's nothing you can put on those nasty things that will make them edible. You can find good hotdog brands at grocery stores down there, but no one in my extended family has a clue or the inclination to pay a premium price for a package of all beef hotdogs, especially kosher dogs.
Now see, that's funny, because my Long Island raised, Jewish wife puts ketchup on her hot dogs, while this Florida raised man thinks it's total blasphemy.
we buy good hot dogs. never buy gross hot dogs, or those 'pink' things. ew. no telling what those are....
always all beef. i like nathan's, and i like oscar meyers. and i like 'em grilled/charred....grill the bun a little, then ketchup. sorry, but that's the way to go. YUM.
(am i making anyone sick? lol)
__________________
just gimme what i want and no one gets hurt...
It's a friggin hot dog. It needs all the help it can get.
Sounds like steak tartare. For any who don't know, that's raw beef, served with onions, ground pepper, etc.
I've eaten it (or tried to) once in my life, because a friend tricked me into ordering it in a restaurant. To this day I don't get the point of eating raw meat, served with something to kill the taste of it.
__________________ It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing. – Gertrude Stein
Sounds like steak tartare. For any who don't know, that's raw beef, served with onions, ground pepper, etc.
I've eaten it (or tried to) once in my life, because a friend tricked me into ordering it in a restaurant. To this day I don't get the point of eating raw meat, served with something to kill the taste of it.
It's a friggin hot dog. It needs all the help it can get....ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, etc, etc. and wash down with at least one cold beer.
You must have never had a great hotdog, Vienna Beef, Best's Kosher, Hebrew National or Nathans. They don't need help, but they deserve respect. Ketchup is too damned sweet for a good hotdog. Ketchup? Why not honey or maple syrup?
FWIW, Chicago invented the hotdog. We've had 120 years to perfect it. You have the right to eat it any way you want. We reserve the right to ridicule you. We've got a pretty good culinary rep up here. Put whatever you want on it, but at least once in your life, try a real quality all-beef dog done up the way we do it up here, without ketchup. Nothing better to eat while you watch your baseball team lose another heartbreaker.
All this talk about "premium" hot dogs is freaking silly, in my opinion. It's a hot dog for god's sake. It's like buying Boar's Head American cheese, sure it's better than Borden or Kraft Singles but it's still crappy American. And yeah, like I stated above, I enjoy a good hot dog from time to time (i.e. streetfood vendors) but man there's so many other better foods out there to eat. I guess I just never bought into the hot dog craze. They're just not that good...much rather grill some bratwurst or other higher end sausage. Hot dogs? Meh...
All this talk about "premium" hot dogs is freaking silly, in my opinion. It's a hot dog for god's sake. It's like buying Boar's Head American cheese, sure it's better than Borden or Kraft Singles but it's still crappy American. And yeah, like I stated above, I enjoy a good hot dog from time to time (i.e. streetfood vendors) but man there's so many other better foods out there to eat. I guess I just never bought into the hot dog craze. They're just not that good...much rather grill some bratwurst or other higher end sausage. Hot dogs? Meh...
I have to disagree with you entirely. There is a huge different in eating a ball park frank vs a natural casing hot dog like a Boar's Head. I mean honestly it isn't even close. A hot is a sausage and there are certainly different quality ones like there are different quality brats or different quality kielbasa.
Furthermore, american cheese certainly has its place in the culinary world. It has superior meltability to just about every other cheese and that makes it ideal for many things like grilled cheese and burgers.
To me the opinion, "there's so many other better foods out there to eat" is one of silliness. Well duh.....you could eat lobster and U.S. Prime steak every night but sometimes you just want a good hot dog and other times you want a plate of cheese fries or something else.
a lot in this thread will think I'm evil--- I sometimes put ketchup on hotdogs.
even more evilly---I have a maker of hotdogs making custom hotdogs for me.
The modification I've made is as follows---
--if you cut any regular hot dog in half, the cross cut is circular in shape. Aesthetically pleasing, etc. But very inefficient when putting toppings on a hot dog.
--The hotdogs that are custom made for me are such that if you cut them in half, the cross section isn't circular in shape......
--instead it is shaped like a 'U'
--the hotdog itself looks a bit like a canoe. It is still easy to cook. With the 'U' dog on a hotdog bun with hollow part facing up you can really fill these dogs with toppings
----chili dogs, cheese dogs, onions, etc, etc
----in addition when grilling them--cook hollow side first on the grill then turn the dog so hollow is facing upward....at that point you can fill the dog with cheese, finely diced seasoned steak, etc(picture a hotdog filled with cheese and steak)
these dogs cook faster. And a 1/4 pound 'U' dog looks a lot bigger than a 1/4 pound regular hot dog, due to the hollowed out space.
you haven't enjoyed a hot dog until you've had a canoe shaped hotdog that is filled with finely diced grilled steak, onions, and provolone. With the cheese melted while canoe shaped dog is hollow side up on the grill
Like beer? I'll send you some for a few packs of those! Lol! Venison chili dogs are a staple at my house, but the chili always falls out!
You must have never had a great hotdog, Vienna Beef, Best's Kosher, Hebrew National or Nathans. They don't need help, but they deserve respect. Ketchup is too damned sweet for a good hotdog. Ketchup? Why not honey or maple syrup?
FWIW, Chicago invented the hotdog. We've had 120 years to perfect it. You have the right to eat it any way you want. We reserve the right to ridicule you. We've got a pretty good culinary rep up here. Put whatever you want on it, but at least once in your life, try a real quality all-beef dog done up the way we do it up here, without ketchup. Nothing better to eat while you watch your baseball team lose another heartbreaker.
Had em all, even with sauerkraut, I stand by my original comments. Don't care who invented it and I squirt ketchup at your "culinary rep". I will give you that a baseball game and hot dogs are a match tho.
I have to disagree with you entirely. There is a huge different in eating a ball park frank vs a natural casing hot dog like a Boar's Head. I mean honestly it isn't even close. A hot is a sausage and there are certainly different quality ones like there are different quality brats or different quality kielbasa.
Furthermore, american cheese certainly has its place in the culinary world. It has superior meltability to just about every other cheese and that makes it ideal for many things like grilled cheese and burgers.
To me the opinion, "there's so many other better foods out there to eat" is one of silliness. Well duh.....you could eat lobster and U.S. Prime steak every night but sometimes you just want a good hot dog and other times you want a plate of cheese fries or something else.
I get what you're saying but I don't agree. Sorry. American cheese is crap to me -- there are other great melting cheeses you can use for those applications. Put American cheese on a burger? I mean, you can do it, but why would you want to do it? I don't mind it when I'm at 5 Guys or something like that, but at home, no way.
To me, a great hot dog is more about the accompaniments more than it is about the dog itself. Look at Chicago, case in point. A proper Chicago dog has so many condiments on it that you can barely see the link. Ask yourself...why? Because the hot dog itself is a crap food and you have to dress it up for it to be good. I just think that a lot of these classic American staples and streetfoods are antiquated and obsolete.
And then you have to account for the fact that they contain nitrogen-based compounds and have a ton of saturated fat -- why eat it? These food-based cultural reasons account for a lot of the health problems in the states -- people love eating this kind of crap here. I won't lie, I eat my share of fatty foods but a hot dog is so damn bad for the human body that it's hard for me to justify being a food source to be eaten on a regular basis.
And I still do stand by what I said about Colombian dogs -- they are damn good (because of the condiments). But I don't think I'd want to eat more than 3 a year.