Make Your Own Dirty Water Dogs With the Sous-Vide Rig
Hot dogs are the best way to please the public. They are already prepared, so you don’t have to worry about poisoning someone, and even the most fastidious young man can rarely resist a good dog. “Dirty Water Dogs” – the ones you get from a cart that sits in a vat of salt water – may seem like a treat that you can only get on the streets of big cities, but with an immersion circulation pump you can get very close to the real thing at home. …
Is this part of Will It Sous Vide? column where I usually do whatever you want with my immersion circulator.
I like this method for several reasons. As with any cooked sous vide, you have precise temperature control, which means dogs are never overcooked. But that also means you can leave the dogs in the tub, keeping them warm for hours, allowing your guests to grab hot and juicy dogs as they please, rather than timing their hunger to match your grilling. While you can’t keep them indefinitely, the internal structure of a hot dog is very different from a steak, so keeping them hot while cooking won’t damage the texture. I’m talking about the easiest protein on your barbecue just now.
Of course, the water won’t be as dirty as in these carts. The “Mud” – based on this recipe from Epicurious – is approximated here with spices, vinegar and a pinch of medicated salt (if you have one). To make your own dirty dogs, you will need:
- 6-10 hot dogs, not skinless (if you want to cook more, just double everything below)
- 1 liter of water
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- A large pinch (1/8 teaspoon) ground cumin
- Pinch of garlic powder
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- A tiny pinch of fixing salt (optional to approximate the amount of nitrite you are likely to find floating in hot dog water).
Add everything to a one gallon sealed freezer bag and notice how unpleasant the hot dog bag looks.
Place the bag in a sous-vide bath set at 155 ℉, which sausage experts Michael Rulman and Brian Polsin say is the ideal gentle temperature. Let the hot dogs hang for at least 45 minutes, which, according to my scientific observations, shows how long it takes dogs to reach this gentle temperature.
These are plump, highly flavored francs with the perfect amount of chunks ready to eat. Take them out of the water with tongs as they ask, tuck them into a couple of buns and let your guest dress them up as they please.
If you really need charcoal, toss it on the grill for a moment and let the flame do its job. Once your hot dog bag runs out, throw in a few more dogs; the water will only get better in the evening. Perhaps it gets so good that you can sell it to a bunch of teapots at a music festival . It’s nice to have summer projects.