I try to avoid blanket condemnations of American eating habits, because he who is without sin should live in glass houses and stuff. But sometimes it’s just too easy.
A while back I posted about hot dogs. In summary: buy Boar’s Head brand all-beef dogs and cook them by rolling them around in a hot skillet for fifteen minutes. Easy.
I didn’t think this was a controversial idea, and it’s not like I was deluged with letters. But on Wednesday I was reading the New York Times food section, and the lead story was about hot dogs. I was reading along and nodding until I got to this:
> Although serious hot dog fans prefer the snap of a natural casing, Mr. McDonnell’s dogs–like most–are formed with a cellulose casing, which is removed before packaging. “We don’t do skin at this point because we are after the mainstream shopper,” he said. “You can’t take America’s favorite food and change it to that degree and expect widespread acceptance.”
(Note: I corrected the attribution of the quote.)
This made me drop my tubesteak. Sure, I had bought some Hebrew National dogs on sale and noticed the lack of casing, but I figured (this seems silly in retrospect) this was somehow related to the kosher designation. I don’t think of myself as a serious hot dog fan, since I buy them maybe six times a year.
No casing? I said to Laurie, “This is like if I read that most people preferred boiled steaks to grilled steaks.”
“That’s just it,” she said, then clued me in. Of course! Most people boil or microwave their dogs. The casing doesn’t become an essential part of the experience until it’s a little browned. Given a hot dog heated by one of these inferior methods, I might choose a jacketless one, too.
On the other hand, maybe the Times got this information from Ahmad Chalabi. and Americans love snappy dogs.
I’m probably a bit odd, but the only time I prefer my hot dogs with a casing is when they’re on the grill. When I cook them on the stove, no casing.
When microwaved in particular, the casings become tough. I endure this when necessary at work, where I don’t have a direct heat source, but it’s decidedly suboptimal.
Now that I know about caseless dogs, it might be time to give them a try….
Prepare to be horrified….
When I cook hotdogs (and most other sausages), I split them lengthwise and grill them. Had some Hemplers franks last night in fact, tasty, better than HN, IMO.
Splitting them lengthwise and grilling is a fine way to cook franks as well as other sausages! For one thing, it makes them easier to put on a hoagie roll, top with cheese, etc for a sausage-sammich experience.
One of my favorite sandwiches ever is from a joint called Roy’s Place in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It’s a split polish sausage, broiled and topped with melted provolone, cole slaw, and russian dressing. They call it “The Dracula [A Bloody Mess].”
Hi, this comment is totally unrelated to the topic on hand. I was researcing a recipe for scallion cake (chinese style) and found yours, which i will try out later today. On the side you made a comment about mystery bread, the kind that is fried but with worm like dough on the inside. I don’t know if you have since discovered what they are but they sound like “silver thread roll” (ying-si-juan), as we call them. Typically you find them at szechuan places and often shanghainese eateries as well. They come either steamed or fried. Personally i prefer the steamed kind but fried is good as a dessert if you dip it in condensed milk (!). Lately I have found they are harder to come by coz people got lazy, i suppose, and the worms have congealed to form just a dough inside. but with luck you can still have them. hope this answers your question regarding mystery bread.
Hello, philistine here. I don’t like casings on my dogs. The “snap” and chewiness of the skin gives me the creeps.
The “Dracula” sounds great. Same as a sandwich at Capriotti’s but instead of sausage they use roast beef (they roast their own).
Relating not to this column, but to the one on dried peppers, yahoo news is showing this headline today: “Turkey inaugurates Caspian oil pipeline.” But I keep reading it as “capsaicin oil pipeline” and visualizing Turks slurping up all that peppery oily goodness. Apparently I am losing my mind.