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The HBHW Recommends
Hot Dog Ramblings
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Hot Dogs, Wieners, Frankfurters, Franks, or Dogs; whatever you call them, they are one of the main stays of low cost cooking, especially if you have children to feed. In my hot dog explorations I have discovered that all beef franks taste the best, at least to my taste buds. They are usually the most expensive too, often costing as much as $3 a pound or more. Since I regard hot dogs as an economy food, I don’t purchase the expensive ones. Instead, I go for the cheapest ones available. At my local stores this means hot dogs made from turkey or chicken meat. I usually pay under $1 a pound, sometimes as little as 69¢ a pound when they are on sale in the summer time. When I find hot dogs this cheaply I but at least 10 pounds for the freezer. Hot Dogs are one thing I know we will use up long before they go to waste. Turkey and Chicken wieners have much less fat than their pork and beef counterparts, so along with being less expensive, they are healthier too. While you’re in the hot dog case, be sure to check the weight of your package. Some packages are 10 or 12 ounces, but appear to be the same size as the full 16 ounce-pound packages. Use the Unit Prices to compare the price per ounce so you know you’re getting the best deal in the lunch meat case.
Incidentally, when I absolutely have to have all beef weiners, I buy them at my local Warehouse store (Sam’s). There I can purchase high quality all beef hot dogs for $1.39 a pound if I buy 4 pounds of them at a time. This is the same price per pound that I regularly pay for hamburger, so it isn’t too expensive for an ocassional treat. As the kids get older and can really taste the flavor difference between the chicken-turkey dogs and the all beef franks, I find myself purchasing the more expensive ones more often. They are still pretty cheap compared to other things. As with so many frugal buying habits, each family must make their own decisions regarding cost and quality. Some folks consider the turkey-chicken dogs the all around best buy because they are less expensive and so much healthier. Others prefer the flavor of the beef weiners enough to pay the higher price. I waffle around from one view to the other, depending on the day, and the amount of last week’s pay check.
To Cook Hot Dogs in the house: My favorite way to cook hot dogs is to boil them. Fill a pot half full of tap water. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Add your hot dogs. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about 5 minutes. Drain the dogs slightly before placing them on a bun. Hot dogs may also be steamed in a steamer insert like vegetables if desired. They need to steam for about 7 to 10 minutes to be heated all the way through. When steamed, hot dogs seem to be juicier to me than when they are boiled. Another favorite way to cook weiners is to fry them. Heat a tablespoon or two of bacon grease, oil, or margarine in a large skillet. Add the hot dogs and fry them until they are browned to your liking. Turn them occasionally so that they brown evenly.
To Cook Hot Dogs outside: When you have your outside grill heated up for hamburgers or steaks it is an easy matter to toss on a few hot dogs for later consumption. Hot dogs cook quickly so watch them carefully. When they are well browned on one side, turn to brown the other side, which will cook more quickly still. These grilled hot dogs are very good reheated in the microwave for fast snacks and lunches. Franks are also delightful when cooked on a stick over an open fire. I use metal coat hangers for the sticks, although I’ve heard that green wood also works. Green wood is wood from a living tree. Since it hasn’t dried out yet, it won’t burn in the fire the way dead fall will. Only take green wood from your own trees on your own property. Never take green wood from public trees, it is stealing. To make a coat hanger stick, use wire cutters to cut the hook off, and straighten out the remaining wire. Carefully shove the hot dog onto one end of the wire, long-ways. The picture to the right shows it short-ways. In my experience hot dogs fall into the fire when cooked this way. Shoving the hot dog onto the wire long-ways is more secure. Use the other end of the wire for a handle. Hold the weiner in the fire until it browns lightly and sweats with it’s inner juices. Turn the franks often to cook them evenly. Serve on a bun with all your favorite fixin’s.
Condiments: Frankfurters are a simple food, lending themselves to all sorts of spicy sauces and savory decorations. Once you place your hot dog on a bun, it is ready for embelishment. For everyday eating ketchup and mustard make weiners something quick and tasty for snacks or lunches. When you have the time you can easily add shredded cheese, minced onion, chopped pickles, and barbecue sauce. Adventuresome souls can add inexpensive canned Sauerkraut, Cole Slaw, and even chutney, picalilly, and other other spicy relishes. I like canned hot dog chili on my wieners. I buy it in 10 ounce cans at 3 for $1. The reason it is so cheap is that the main ingredient listed on the can is ground beans, not meat. It tastes good though, and is just the right touch for a summer afternoon of chili dogs, coleslaw and jello fruit salad. One can is enough to serve my family for one meal of hot dogs.
Buns & Bread: Have you ever tried to make homemade hot dog buns? I have, and I’ve never been as successful at it as I’d like. Hamburger buns are easy to shape, and if they are a little crooked, they still fit the burger. Hot dog buns are more persnickity. Unless you have the patience of Job I recommend buying your hot dog buns pre-made. My local day-old bread store sells them for about 50¢ a package. I usually buy about 6 or 8 packages and freeze them until I need them. Hot dog buns taste best if they are warmed up before eating. This can be done quickly in the microwave by cooking for a few seconds. Be careful though, because the microwave will over cook and dry out your buns before you can say Jack Robinson. A more reliable way is to arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. This will toast them slightly, giving them just enough crispiness to hold up to the onslaught of topping cascading from the condiment tray. If you don’t have buns, don’t worry. Hot Dogs are aboslutely divine with a nice slice of white bread wrapped around them, the way you wrap a blanket around a sleeping child. If you are out of bread then you can make Corn Dogs or Pigs in a Blanket instead.
Beanie Wienies: This is an all time favorite at my house. Heat up 4 to 6 cups of Baked Beans or Pork ‘n’ Beans. This is 3 or 4 15 ounce cans. Homemade Baked Beans will be cheaper, but canned beans are convenient and relatively inexpensive. Slice up a pound of hot dogs and heat them up in a large saucepan along with the beans. I prefer the hot dogs thinly sliced, but this is a matter of taste. Add a bit of ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, chopped onion, or chopped green pepper if you take a notion to. Add a little water if you need to, for simmering. Simmer the dish over medium heat for about 10 minutes to mingle the flavors together. Serve hot with a pan of Corn Bread if you like. This will serve 6 people amply, the recipe may be cut in half if desired.
Mashed Potato Pups: Start off with a pound of hot dogs. Cut a lengthwise slit in each hot dog, without cutting all the way through. Get 2 cups of leftover or fresh mashed potatoes, instant ones are fine. Mix 1/2 to 1 cup of shredded cheese with the mashed potatoes. Stuff the hot dogs with the cheesy potatoes. Arrange the stuffed dogs on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400° for about 15 minutes. The potatoes should be brown and hot and the cheese should be melted. Serve hot to hungry children. Excellent use for leftover mashed potatoes.
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8 Responses to “Hot Dog Ramblings”
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Website & Graphics by ccd
July 12th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Hi,
Couldnt read the whole article — “mainstay” if kids in the household???, etc. So much of your website indicates you are an intelligent person who must know of how unhealthy hotdogs are especially (underline ‘especially’) for children, whose are still adding new cells — including brain cells! — instead of just sloughing off dead cells as adults. Boneless skinless chicken breast is always on sale for $1.99 a pound. Homemade chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, chicken salad, chicken salad sandwhich. I liked that I saw legumes mentioned a lot, but, please get rid of the hot dogs. I raised a daughter (now 13) and we have never had a hot dog in our house. She survived. Google “hotdogs” and “carcinogenic” and see what you find. Feel free to email me if you would like to talk about this.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I feel the same way. I appreciate your comments, Michelle, and will substitute chicken for hot dogs in recipes on this site. Love the site otherwise, and am looking forward to making school lunches for 50 cents to $1.00!! Wow, thanks for putting up so much valuable stuff.
claudia
August 31st, 2009 at 3:49 am
Don’t use coat hangers. Even bare wire ones have a varnish or coating that may chemically contaminate the food due to heat and the hot dog’s oils.
September 17th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I really had to add my 2 cents. I grew up eating hotdogs, and I servce them to my children. I am in the same league with the HBHW. I have a limited budget and here in Hawaii if you can find chicken for $1.99 a pound you better buy the store out! I do buy hotdogs & we eat them. I try to buy the best ones I can afford, and we usually have them for snacks and lunches.
A note to other readers. If you choose not to serve hot dogs that is your personal preference, nowhere on this site does it say that you must eat a hotdog to be frugal in your spending.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Never thought I would see a debate over hot dogs. I have been following this site for over 2 years now and I can say that it does it’s job well and with abundance. If you have personal preference with ingredients it is better to just sub with something else, and move on. It is a person’s right to eat a hot dog just as much as a right to abstain. If you would like the perfect recipe site that has all your points of view then you can go make one yourself for like minded people. Otherwise it is useless to complain and just plain rude to the women who put their hard work and time into this site.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I like chicken, full of more chemicals than you can usually swallow in one mouthful. I LOVE hot dogs. If you’re going to protect your kids from unhealthy hot dogs you might as well lock them up in a glass bubble, too. There’s more carcinogens in the air we breathe than in eating a good hot dog. I’m not here for a long time so I might as well be here for a good time…give me a dog and a beer!
October 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I want to add one more receipe that my Mom used to make me as a child and I sometimes crave as an adult. Ok, chop up 5 hot dogs like you would if you’re making beenie weenies brown them in a skillet with a little onion until the meat has a nice golden crisp and the onions are translucent. While doing that, start preparing a box of mac-n-cheese (we all know how to do that)the classic “blue box” style mac-n-cheese no fancy shells and cheese. It just doesn’t work the same.
So now you have your gold weenies and onions and your noodles&cheese, mix these together while adding black pepper to taste. And, it’s done.
Now, I’m aware that this is not a “healthy” meal and I’m not suggesting that you serve this to your children everyday(unless it’s all you have), but it is tastey and it’s really easy to make.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I just wanted to say thanks for the mashed potato idea! I also wanted to add a variation. My Meemaw started making “Stuffed Weenies” in the 50’s when my Grandpa came back from a mess hall somewhere in the world having had them. You basically use the same formula as the Mashed Potato Pups, but substitute canned crushed pineapple for the potatoes. The potatoes are used, but as a side. They are served cubed and “home fried”, in a iron skillet of course!