This Little Doggy On The Webber

[Steve_A (Tatoosh)]

The filling for hotdogs is a bit strange before stuffing. Here it is Philippine beef and some pork fat. My first try for stuffing a casing. I need a lot more practice!

Here are the hotdogs filled, sorry hands were full during the actual stuffing, so no photos there. A few air pockets slipped in but no serious problems

Here they are, tied with thread, on the Weber to be smoked.

And a thermal probe tactfully stuck up one's hiney! They are about done smoking. Turned them once for more even color.

The better half cutting the links and removing the thread.

A little closer inspection.

And on the plate, with a bacon wrap.

They LOOK great, but the collagen casing toughened up when grilled. I thought it was something of a let down.

Until I had one today. Tried cooking it in hot water in the NY Street Vendor style. Dang, it was G-O-O-D! Hoorah!
So I will be making more of these. They are destined for the hot water cooker. The flavor isn't going to put Nathans or Hebrew National out of business, but they are better than the store bought here. And with more practice, maybe I will get more even sized links without tearing any in the process.

It was a lot of fun to make and I love the whiff of hickory smoke I get even when boiling them. I'll be doing this again soon.

 

[Wolgast]

You are way to hard on yourself...Those dogs looks great! I would love a few right now!

 

[Bob Sample]

Great looking dogs. Just like the ones at the deli counter

 

[Steve_A (Tatoosh)]

Thanks! I really enjoyed making them. I do want to improve some, but I was pleasantly surprised at the difference between grilling and water bath for the collagen casings. With a better grinder and a stuffer, I can see this will be some fun and not too hard to turn out a good quantity along with better quality. But I am enjoying the journey, learning to do it with what's on hand. A few more tries and some chili, I'll have pretty decent coney dogs for the occasional Saturday night movie fest!

 

[Mike Coffman]

Excellent looking dogs Steve!

 

[Jon Des.]

Great dogs Steve! You might want to try stuffing them first and then linking at the end. My sausages are all different sizes when I link them coming out, but when I can take my time they get a lot better.

 

[John Solak]

Those dogs look mouth watering good!!

 

[DaleW]

Good looking dogs! Great color after grilling!

 

[Mildo]

Very good looks dogs Steve. Is there any reason why you should not use pork casings?

 

[Derek Stapleton]

Awesome looking dogs! Bet they'd be good cooked in a bit of beer instead of water!

 

[Gary H. NJ]

You are way to hard on yourself...Those dogs looks great! I would love a few right now!

Agreed! those look great.

 

[Paul Kastner]

what a wonderful cook. Sorry they did not taste like you wanted but they sure make a great picture.