Foolproof: Hot Dogs & Sausages

Know Your Dogs

1. 01

   A hot dog isn't a sausage (read the label)

   There are a few types, and the label tells you how to treat each one. Regular hot dogs are precooked. Smoked dogs and smoked sausages are also technically cooked. All of those you're just reheating to steaming hot, there's no safety temp to hit. Fresh sausages (a brat, an Italian) are raw and say 'cook thoroughly', so you cook those to 160°F for pork or beef, 165°F for poultry, on a thermometer.
   

   Reheat, cook, or smoke your own

   • Read the label first: 'fully cooked' means reheat, 'cook thoroughly' means raw, cook to temp.
   • Smoking your own sausage? Smoke it low, around 225°F, until it hits 160°F internal (165°F for poultry). Don't prick the casing or the fat and juice render out and it dries.
   • To temp a sausage without tearing the casing, slide the probe in through an open end, not the side.
   • At-risk eaters (pregnant, 65+, immune-compromised) should heat even precooked dogs to a steaming 165°F for listeria.
2. 02

   Buy natural casing

   That snap when you bite is all about the casing, and it's a shopping decision, not a cooking one. Buy natural-casing dogs and sausages (sheep or hog) and they pop. Don't prick or slice them, and skip the hard rolling boil, or you lose the snap.

The Chicago Dog

1. 03

   Gentle boil, not a hard boil

   An all-beef frank is precooked, so you're just reheating it. Give it a gentle boil, soft lazy bubbles, about 5 to 7 minutes, until it's plump and hot through. Skip the hard rolling boil, which bursts the casing, and never prick it. Steam the poppy-seed bun soft, don't toast it (a toasted bun is the tell of a fake Chicago dog).
   
2. 04

   Build it, and no ketchup

   Steamed bun, dog, then in order: yellow mustard, neon-green relish, chopped white onion, tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, two sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The celery salt seems minor but it makes a big difference in flavor, don't skip it. Amounts are all personal preference, build it how you like.
   

   Never ketchup

   The cardinal sin of a Chicago dog is ketchup. The tomato and relish already bring the sweetness, ketchup just buries the dog.

The Coney Chili Dog

1. 05

   Boil it, or griddle for char

   A natural-casing beef-pork frank is precooked. Traditionally you gently boil it, the same way as the Chicago dog. Or griddle it for browned, blistered skin: lay it on a flat-top or cast iron over medium heat, around 350°F, not screaming hot, and roll it 3 to 5 minutes until browned all over. Keep the heat moderate so the casing browns and pops a little without splitting wide open, that little pop is part of the joy. Steam the bun separately, and keep the dog whole, don't split it.
2. 06

   The chili (no beans)

   Cook the ground beef with the onion, garlic, tomato paste, and spices until it's cooked through, then let it simmer down until it's thick and smooth enough to cling to the dog, 30 minutes or more. No beans. Build: dog, chili, freshly grated sharp cheddar over the hot chili, raw onion last.
   

   Thick, not chunky

   Coney chili is a smooth, thick sauce, not a chunky stew. Cook it down until it clings to the dog instead of sliding off.

The Elote Dog

1. 07

   Char the corn, cook the sausage

   Char the corn kernels (grill or dry cast iron) until spotted brown, then toss with mayo or crema, lime, cotija, cilantro, onion, and Tajin. Cook the jalapeno-cheddar sausage two-zone: indirect at 300 to 350°F to heat it through, then char over the flame 1 to 3 minutes, to 160 to 165°F.
   

   Char is the flavor

   You have to char the corn, that browning is what makes it taste like elote. Don't prick the sausage or the cheese blows out, and smoked sausage stays pink when it's done, so go by temp, not color.

The Brat (no bun)

1. 08

   Beer-poach, then hard sear

   This one's actually raw, so you cook it. Gently simmer the brat in beer and sliced onions about 15 minutes until cooked through, then sear it hard to tighten and char the casing. Cook to 160°F, checked with an instant-read thermometer. Serve it off the bun with the beer-braised onions, sauerkraut, and good mustard.
   

   Raw, so cook to temp

   Poach to cook it through gently, then sear for the snap and color. Because it's raw, this is the one where the thermometer actually matters.