HEALTHY AND LEAN HOMEMADE FRANKFURTERS (Hot Dogs)

MAKES ABOUT 18 HOT DOGS

My mother loves hot dogs but, since she has to be cautious about high-sodium foods, can’t eat them as often as she would like. So, I decided to take on the challenge of making a homemade version. It has been quite a task. Surprisingly, getting the correct flavor was fairly simple. It was the texture that posed a problem. The first time I used the grinder attachment to my stand mixer. The grinding disk just wasn’t fine enough. We had very tasty, but very coarse sausages. Then I decided to use the food processor and its steel blade. It worked well. You can process it very fine, though it is still not quite as fine as store-bought. I also added the egg whites to help bind the mixture. Although I have a sausage maker attachment for the mixer, I have not dealt with using casings, mainly because I want to perfect everything else first. But that’s a good thing, because anyone who owns a processor can make these hot dogs. The doggies are precooked in boiling water, just like those you purchase. The process may seem complicated, but it is really quite easy. If you use lean ground pork and turkey, these hot dogs are low-fat, as low-sodium as desired, completely free of additives, and delicious. My mother is very happy, as am I.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1-1/4 pounds lean ground pork (see notes below)

1 pound lean ground turkey (see notes below)

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

4 teaspoons ground dry mustard

1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I use freshly ground)

1 teaspoon ground mace

1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika

1 teaspoon salt (see notes below)

1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Grind the oats in a large processor until fine. Remove. (If you have a mini-processor, use it for this step. It might grind this small amount of oats with greater ease.) Place the ground pork and turkey in the processor. Process until very fine, using the pulse button occasionally. Add the oats and remaining ingredients. Continue to process until a paste, making certain the mixture doesn’t start to heat. (To taste for seasoning, form a small amount into a little patty. Cook the patty, either in a small skillet or in the microwave, until thoroughly cooked. If needed, add more salt, pepper or spices to the meat in the processor and process again.) Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, stirring well to make certain all of the sesonings are combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

There are several choices for forming the hot dogs. As stated above, they may be passed through a sausage maker using hot dog-sized casings, twisting at about 6-inches to form links. (I will try that soon, because I do miss the "snap" when biting into a store-bought hot dog.) Or you could just shape the meat into patties for use in hamburger buns. That would be a little easier to handle, but I like the traditional hot dog shape in a hot dog bun. Take 2 ounces of the meat and shape into a ball. Roll each ball between your hands until it forms a log about 5 inches long, making certain it is fairly uniform from top to bottom. (Without the casing, if you roll the hot dogs too thin, they might break apart when cooking.) Place on a baking sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper.

Place half of the hot dogs in a large skillet. Add enough water to come almost halfway up the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, gently turning occasionally with tongs, until thoroughly cooked, about 15 minutes, depending on size and thickness. Place on a clean baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry. Proceed with the remaining sausages. At this point, the hot dogs may be grilled, browned in a skillet with butter, or microwaved, as preferred. Alternately, they may be individually wrapped, placed in plastic bags, and refrigerated for several days, or frozen for up to 6 months, just like you would do with store-bought hot dogs.

Notes: If you are concerned about using the oats as a filler, don’t be. They only help to bind the meat and add no noticeable flavor. You may substitute quick oats, but not instant. Both the pork and turkey I use is 93% lean. You could use leaner if preferred. Also, in my store, the ground pork is packed in 1-1/4 pound packages. Certainly, you could use a 1 pound pack. As for the salt, I always cook with kosher salt. A teaspoon of that salt is less that a teaspoon of table salt since the grind is coarser. Furthermore, you may, as always, adjust the amount of salt to your taste, using less if you are on a very strict low-sodium diet or more, if you prefer a saltier hot dog. The same applies to the pepper. I use a pepper grinder, which produces a coarser grind than canned black pepper and, therefore, less pepper per teaspoon. Don’t forget, you may add any of the seasonings after tasting, but you can’t take them out, so start with less.

Use your browser's BACK button to return to previous page
or go to the RECIPE INDEX.