Hot Dog Stand Recipe: You Can Make Delicious Stadium-Style Hot Dogs At Home

I’ve made sausages the same way for years. They were always good, but nothing to brag about. I think maybe in the back of my mind, the humble sausage just wasn’t important enough to warrant the creative input from my imaginative culinary side. Then one day, I decided to try something different.

When I was young, I was taught to boil the sausage in water, put it in a bun, and sprinkle various seasonings on top. But as I grew older and advanced in culinary skills, I knew there had to be a way to improve this method of cooking a hot dog.

Things that go great with hot dogs are: French fries, baked beans, coleslaw, or potato salad.

This method of cooking the humble sausage is now a regular thing in my house. My family loves them and they really are good. This is what you will need:

* All beef sausages (you can eat those other “things” if you want, we only eat beef sausages; we prefer the length of the bun too)

* Soft buns (you want fresh buns here, not stale, although you can steam them if you insist on using stale bread – I have other uses for stale bread, such as bread pudding with amaretto sauce)

* Hot dog seasoning

* Sauerkraut

* Onions in cube

* Mustard and tomato sauce

* Kraft Shredded Mexican Style Four Cheese Blend

* Chili sauce for hot dogs (Castleberry’s is our favorite)

* Laura’s Homemade Cabbage Salad

* Butter

* Tin foil

* Crock pot

* Cast iron skillet

Now, you don’t have to do everything the same way as me. I let everyone know how I do it and you can adapt as you see fit.

Note that hot dogs need to spend time in the crock pot to be good, and the steaming method I mention below is excellent. Plan properly for the dog packs to heat up and mix inside their “pack” in the hot crock pot. I usually make the dogs and leave them for 45 minutes to an hour in the pot.

1. About an hour before dinner, turn the crock pot to a simmer and allow it to heat up.
2. Heat the cast iron skillet and add a tablespoon of butter.
3. Fry the veal sausages in the iron skillet.
4. When they have a good “fry” on the outside, kind of like if you grill them, remove them and place them inside a fresh soft bun not stale (I am very particular about my bread being soft and fresh)
5. Immediately wrap the assembled bread and sausage in aluminum foil, sealing all edges.
6. Place in a crock pot.
7. Repeat with the remaining buns and sausages.
8. Cover the crock pot and leave it alone.
9. Heat the chili in the microwave or on the stove.
10. Prepare the other seasonings.
11. Put everything on the table, including drinks, chips, salsa, whatever.
12. Then take out one assembled dog at a time for each diner, keeping the rest in the covered crock pot to keep it warm.

These heat up really great. Simply scoop the bread and sausage combo out of aluminum foil (don’t forget this step to avoid an unpleasant microwave incident), wrap loosely in a paper towel, and microwave for about 10-15 seconds. Don’t overdo it, the bun will get stiff.

Alternative method: I tried this once and it was even better. Place a wire rack in the bottom of the crock pot before adding the sausages. Add a tablespoon of water. Be careful, you don’t want the dog packs to run into liquid. Instead, the idea is to “vaporize” them slightly.

I usually eat two hot dogs, each prepared as follows:

Version n. 1: (ingredients are in order of use) mustard, ketchup, seasoning, chili sauce, cheese, onions

Version # 2: (ingredients are in order of use) mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, homemade coleslaw

Now, a note here about the salad. There are all sorts of different ways to make coleslaw. There is also a cabbage mix that can be purchased in a bag. I am as picky about my salad as I am about my bread. My mom made coleslaw in much the same way for years, and it always tasted good.

If you’ve ever had bad coleslaw, you’ll remember it. Some fast food restaurants have the audacity to CALL IT coleslaw, but it’s more like tasteless cardboard “stuff.” Have you ever thought that the cole slaw in many restaurants is often completely white, as if everything is made entirely from the heart of cabbage? Makes you wonder what happened to all the GREEN things.

I’ll be sure to put a link to my coleslaw recipe at the end of the article, so be sure to grab it and try it with these delicious stadium-style hot dogs.

I am very demanding with certain things: fresh bread is one; fresh milk is another; good tasting coleslaw is important; I think Castleberry’s spicy hot dog sauce is great; I use the Mexican-style Kraft Four-Cheese Blend almost daily; I want to know what is in the meat that I eat. However, to each his own. Enjoy!