How-To Tuesday: Texas BBQ Dog
Now that it’s summer, I can indulge in my favorite pastime: eating outside! Fire up the grill and get cooking while the sunshine lasts.
By far the simplest outdoor food is the humble hot dog. Just throw it on the grill and wait, right? But little did you know, this classic American favorite can easily become fine cuisine. Haute Dogs takes the traditional cookout to new foodie heights with recipes for dogs, buns, and condiments.
To get started on your summer pursuit for the perfect hot dog, try this recipe from Haute Dogs!
Texas BBQ Dog
Place of Origin: Southern United States
Other Names: BBQ Dog, Loaded Dog
Consider yourself warned: this hot dog takes all day to make (though technically it is not the dog but the pulled pork topping that is so time consuming). But since you can make it all on the grill, this recipe is the perfect excuse to spend a long summer day outside. As for the precise pedigree of this loaded BBQ dog—who knows? But find me a hole-in-the-wall BBQ joint in the South that doesn’t serve something like this and I’d be surprised. For the style of barbecue, I took a cue from my home state, where the focus is always on the meat and never on the sauce or sides.
Pulled Pork
Texas BBQ Sauce
Baked beans
Classic bun
American beef sausage
Prep: Make pulled pork and Texas barbecue sauce, if using homemade. Make baked beans according to the package instructions and keep warm.
Assembly: Get out a classic bun. Grill an American beef sausage and toast the bun on the grill. Place the sausage in the bun and top with a heaping pile of pulled pork and a pile of baked beans. Serve with barbecue sauce.
Kitchen Notes: Pulled pork takes the better part of a day to cook, so plan ahead. Texas-style barbecue sauce is available at most grocery stores. American beef sausage, sometimes called farmer’s beef sausage, is heavily seasoned and often has a pungent garlic flavor that pairs well with pulled pork and barbecue sauce.
Mind Your Bs and Qs
Texas barbecue is all about the meat. Though Texans love beef, we’re not opposed to throwing in some pork, lamb, and chicken. Unless you’re serving up hot dogs, the sauce is always served on the side, not on the meat.
From Haute Dogs by Russell van Kraayenburg. For more information, check out quirkbooks.com/hautedogs.
Suzanne Wallace
Suzanne is cursed with the ability to spell almost any word. When she’s not churning out press releases, Suzanne enjoys fairy tales, Welsh Corgis, and baking pastries at 3AM. She has spent her entire life searching for an entrance to Narnia. If you've seen any mysterious wardrobes, please let her know. You can email her at [email protected].
