The Ultimate Hot Dog
These hot dogs are based on everyone’s favourite Christmas side: pigs in blankets. Like Christmas trees, hot dogs are thought to originate in Germany, so I’ve added a bit of curry powder, German mustard and Bavarian cheese as a nod to that. Great to cook outside on a cold day!
Servings
4
Ingredients
- For the barbecue burnt onions:
- 2 large onions, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- For the pigs in blankets:
- 4 jumbo sausages
- 2 heaped tsp mild curry powder
- 12 rashers of streaky bacon
- For the German mustard mayo:
- 100g thick mayonnaise
- 40g German mustard
- 3 tsp finely chopped shallot
- 10 cornichons, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped dill
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- To assemble:
- 4 long hot dog rolls
- 8 thick slices of smoked Bavarian cheese
- 8 large slices of dill pickle
- A bunch of spring onions, green part only, finely sliced
Method
- To cook the onions, place a cast-iron pan on the hot barbecue and add the oil. When it is hot, add the onions with a generous pinch of salt. Stir well and cook for about 20 minutes until softened, dark and caramelised.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sausages. Poke a metal skewer through the length of each sausage and lay the skewers on a tray. Season with the curry powder, trying to get an even coating all over the sausages. Wrap each one in bacon, using three rashers per sausage, and secure the bacon with a couple of cocktail sticks. Lay the bacon-wrapped sausages on the hot barbecue and cook for about 10 minutes, turning every minute or two.
- While they are on the barbecue, mix the German mustard mayo ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste; set aside until needed. Once the sausages are cooked through, lift them off the barbecue and place on a tray. Remove the cocktail sticks and metal skewers.
- To build the hot dogs, slit the rolls open through the top and lay the cheese slices in them. Add the bacon-wrapped sausages and top with plenty of caramelised onions and the pickle slices. Place the hot dogs on a sturdy baking tray on the barbecue, put the lid on and leave for a minute or two so that the cheese becomes all gooey and melted. Transfer the hot dogs to plates and spoon on the German mayo. Scatter over the spring onions for freshness and serve.
From Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking (Bloomsbury Absolute, £22 Hardback) Photography © Cristian Barnett
