"Dirty Water Dogs" news and stories

Most of the time I like my dogs crispy and deep brown on the outside. But then there are the times I want my childhood comfort food, a dirty water dog. I remember the first one I had when i was a youngin' growing up in park Slope, Brooklyn. I was around five years old and my mom stopped by one of those small hand pushcarts, the real tiny one you don't seem much anymore where the yellow and blue Sabrett's umbrella is bigger than the cart, at the corner of Union Street and Seventh Ave.

They were a dime each, and seemed a bargain to me. My mom tried to order one for me with ketchup but they didn't have any and besides, I was already of the opinion that ketchup is for fries and burgers and would never let it dog my franks. I wanted the "other stuff," the bright yellow/brown "deli" mustard and the reddish, shiny stuff. So I had my first Sabrett's hot dog with mustard and Sabrett's onion sauce. It wasn't much to look at, kind of ugly and messy to tell you the truth, but it was mighty tasty and went down just fine, thank you. (By the way, I know that's a nasty photo. I wasn't able to take my own shot.)

Summertime always sparks a craving for hot dogs. No doubt it's largely due to fond memories of childhood barbecues. I've little or no time for whining about whether wieners make for unhealthful eating. Debates about how to cook 'em hold infinitely more interest. As a New Yorker, I'm no stranger to so-called dirty water dogs. I've been known to eat one now and again, but I much prefer the grilled dogs of my childhood. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that deep-fried dogs are a relatively new indulgence for me.

Tastiness aside, I realize deep-fried dogs are probably about as good for you as pork cracklins, though no less tasty. Lately I've been reading about hot dog cooking methods that are down right life-threatening. I'm not talking about holding your dog over an open flame with your bare hands, but zapping it with the current that comes out of your wall. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories gives step-by-step instructions for this novel way to fry your frank along with the warning, "Do not, under any circumstances, cook hot dogs this way." To their credit EMSL repeatedly points out the danger of being electrocuted by cooking a wiener via wall current, and notes that the taste of the final product leaves something to be desired.

The second bizarre method of hot dog cooking I came across is not so much life-threatening in terms of process, but yields a product, that deserves to be called palate deadening. For some reason Jaime J. Weinman decided to microwave a hot dog until all the fat had been rendered out. After 10 minutes of zapping the poor frankfurter, it was reduced to a dry tasteless stick. I'd be hard-pressed to find any cured sausage that didn't taste downright awful after being nuked for five minutes, much less 10.
[via BoingBoing, Serious Eats]