"DeepFriedHotDogs" news and stories

When I start talking about hot dogs I've made road trips for, one that always comes to mind is Rutt's Hut in Clifton, NJ, and their famous Rippers. These are deep fried hot dogs that are cooked until they are golden brown and starting to rip open. I spent several hours on a road trip there and back one day, and found them very interesting.

I have always liked my hot dogs well done. As a kid I wanted to improve on NYC's dirty water dogs which, while they tasted great, had just too soft a texture for me. At home I would always put my franks on a skewer and toast them over the flame on the stove until they got brown, crispy, and started to burn and split open. Well, Rutt's Hut takes this one step further with their Rippers. Personally I found the hot dog itself to be the player here. The heavy potato rolls were a bit too much for the frank, and the condiments left a lot to be desired. This was a lifetime first, where I actually just wanted a few Rippers, or even the super well done Cremators, served on a plate with some decent spicy brown mustard like Nathan's. I could go on about them, pros and cons, but so many others have that I will let you hear their views as well.. Here's some links to articles and reviews about getting Ripped at Rutt's.

Jane & Michael Stern's Roadfood on Rutt's Hut

Holly Eat's Rippers

The New York Times tried Rippers ten years ago

Wikipedia mentions them

You can watch about them on You Tube

More than once on You Tube

They got dissed on Chowhound.com