Have I found the perfect Hot Dog?

For many years, I have been trying to find the perfect Hot Dog. The perfect balance of meat and bun has been very elusive. Let's start with the meat. My favorite store bought hot dogs were always Nathan's and Hebrew National. Both have a good taste and are available in a 1/4 pound size. Sam's Club uses the Nathan's 1/4 lb. frank in the hot dog they sell in the clubs. For a while, we were able to buy the Nathan's 1/4 lb dogs in a big package at the club. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be available any more. They sell them in the cafeteria, but not in the club. The biggest problem with Sam's is the lack of attention to the bun. In the old days they served their dogs on a hoagie roll. They were usually dry and cold and way too much bun for the hot dog. More recently, Sam's has started using a large hot dog bun in their cafeteria. They do sell the buns in the club, but only 18 at a time.

Years ago, I learned that one of the secrets to a good hot dog was steaming the buns. It makes all the difference in the world. It softens the bun and even makes it a bit sticky, which I really like. If you notice commercial hot dog cookers, they always have the meat cooking in water and the buns above the water steaming all the while. I found that a simple bamboo steamer works well at home for making hot dogs. I put water in a shallow pan and put the meat in the water to boil. I put the buns in the steamer and set it on top of the pan.

Years ago, I became friends with John Hammell when he was the manager of Dancing Tomato restaurant in Yuba City, CA. John was a big fan of the hot dog served at Candlestick Park at Giants Games. I found these hot dogs available from the Stockton producer, Alpine Meat Co. The "Giant Dogs" are available in a 1/5 lb. frank from Alpine Meat Co. It is still one of my favorite hot dogs. They come in a big box though, I think it was 9 lbs, and they are not quite long enough to fill the buns we find at Sam's

Fast forward to this last weekend. Susan and I were looking around at out new Smart and Final Plus store in Yuba City. While perusing the meat section, I found Hebrew National 1/4 lb. franks available in the meat case. We can always find the skinny, long dogs almost anywhere, but they get lost in bun long enough to accommodate the frank. I bought the pack of Hebrew National dogs, and went looking to see what they had in buns. Buns have been another problem. Sam's has a big hot dog bun, I think it is made by Rainbow, but there are 18 in a package and we waste most of them.

On another note, we have been seeing "pretzel buns" showing up in restaurants as barbecue, hamburger and sandwich buns. I really like the texture and taste of these new pretzel buns.

Back to Smart and Final's bread section. On the self, was a package of 4 "pretzel sub rolls". They were not as big as a normal hoagie or sub roll, but they were about the right length and size to fit a 1/4 lb. hot dog!

When the dinner menu came around to "Hot Dog Night" we set up the bamboo steamer and threw in some of our new Hebrew National 1/4 lb dogs, and filled the steamer with the Pretzel sub rolls. After a good boil, the buns were perfectly steamed and the hot dogs were good and hot. We put them together and adorned them with Spicy brown mustard, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, and freshly chopped red onion. We served them up with some canned bbq baked beans.

The hot dogs were perfect! The right ratio of bread to meat. After steaming the pretzel buns, they took on a perfect shape for our franks. The steamed buns became very soft, but with a surprising chewiness and aroma from the pretzel bread. This may just be my perfect hot dog.