Frankfurters - pork/beef - QVIEW

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ragnar

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 2, 2016
94
160
Wisconsin
We wanted a good, high quality hot dog. Those "things" in the 10 pack at the grocery store just ain't cuttin' it, and not by a long stretch.

While enjoying some of the Kielbasa we made a short while back, my father-in-law (who is now quite interested in the process of smoking, especially the part when we sample what we made) asked if we could make some GOOD hot dogs. Again, I'm assuming he's looking to deer season again. Kicker is, he wanted a HOT DOG, not some pencil thin thing. He also wanted some snap to the casing.

Ok, so sure. Of course it can be done. To get closer to a venison/pork mix, I went 40/60 mix of 85/15 beef to some lean pork butt. I also used 29-32mm (1 1/8" to 1 1/4") hog casings. Pork was double-ground with a course and then a fine plate. Beef was already medium ground.

Recipe was from Rytek's book, with less salt added (6.5g/lb), and an even split of NFDM and Soy Protein Concentrate.

After thoroughly mixing the seasonings, cure, binders, and 1 cup of ice water, the meat batter was then emulsified in a food processor. This was an interesting process. We started with 10 lbs of meat, and I was able to get 2.5 lbs into the food processor at once. While running, I gradually added ice water until the meat settled in the processor and was turned into an even paste. Approximately an additional cup, maybe a little more, per batch. It came out the consistency of peanut butter. Final temp after emulsifying was 55F.


The batter was covered and put in the fridge for the night. Wanted to let it do it's magic, and it was getting late.

The next day, we stuffed and linked 'em all up. I was able to smoke them in two batches - one yesterday afternoon, and one this afternoon. Yesterday's batch went straight to my father-in-law. He freaked out when he saw them, and ate one cold. Tonight, for supper, he grilled a couple up along with some fresh homemade bread and some fried potatoes. He's definitely hooked.

Here's the batch that got smoked up today. Yeah, the color is amazing on the casings.


The 10 lbs of meat yielded 38.5 links. Here's the cut view, from the midget link that was left over... had to grab a quick taste before bed. It was wonderful. Nice snap to the casing, and there was a good, even hickory smoke flavor that yielded to the seasonings in the dog. Texture was smooth, like a hot dog should be.


Smoking profile was:

preheat smoker to 130F, let sausages normalize 30 minutes at room temp

Time 0:00 - Put links in smoker at 130F

Time 0:30 - apply medium hickory smoke

Time 1:00 - increase temp to 140F

Time 1:30 - increase temp to 150F

Time 2:00 - stop smoking, increase temp to 165F

Time 5:00 - IT 155F - pull and immediately immerse in ice water bath for 20 minutes - IT below 100F

Bloom for 1 hour at room temp, then refrigerate (minus the mini-dog, which was quite happily consumed)

All in all, pretty good. Had a few bubbles in the stuffer, but not sure how to improve on this with emulsified meat - it's just.. weird. Still, the texture came out pretty good, with minimal pockets in the sausage.

The smell, texture, and flavor palate are great, and will use this recipe again without modification. Can't wait for a hot off the grill dog in a good bun, spicy brown mustard, a little ketchup, some good dill relish, and a sprinkling of fine diced onions. Would also be awesome with some kraut.

Thanks for checking it out!
 
Looks great and nice post...JJ
 
Nice job on the dogs!

I usually use sheep casing when I make them, but next time I think I may try the hog casings for bigger dogs.

Great post & instructions.

points.gif


Al
 
Wow those look great!  I have read about using the food processor to emulsify the mixture like that but never tried hot dogs.  Definitely on my list!  Excellent smoke! Points!
 
 
Looks great and nice post...JJ
Can't beat a good frank, nice job!
Tasty looking dogs! Nice smoke!

Points!
Those look great! Now you have me thinking about making dogs. Point
Thanks a lot, guys! Appreciate the feedback and the points! 
 
Nice job on the dogs!

I usually use sheep casing when I make them, but next time I think I may try the hog casings for bigger dogs.

Great post & instructions.

points.gif


Al
 Thanks, Al! Appreciate the feedback and points!

Had a couple of these for lunch today at work. Thought I might have to fight just to keep them. These dogs are huge. I barely could stuff down the second half of the second dog. On the test-fry patty with what was left in the stuffer tube, I was a little concerned that there was a little too much Mace in the seasoning palate, but not in the finished, smoked product. Taste is great - kicks the everloving **** out of some run of the mill mass produced hot dogs. I'd personally like something about 1" rather than this 1.25" thing. Brat buns, however, are the golden ticket. A standard, wimpy bun just ain't gonna cut it. You'll be happy with the result of these, I'm positive. Looking forward to seeing how your batch turns out!
 
Wow those look great!  I have read about using the food processor to emulsify the mixture like that but never tried hot dogs.  Definitely on my list!  Excellent smoke! Points!
Thanks! 

Give the emusifying process a shot. It's kind of like making a milkshake in a blender. Start with your meat as-mixed, with about 1 cup of water mixed in. Start the food processor, and GRADUALLY add water to it. Just like there's a point where the ice cream "breaks" and just starts blending instead of throwing a big wad of ice cream around in circles, this does the same thing. Once it does that, keep it going for a little bit. If it needs more, give it a little more. Add like half a tablespoon at a time. Watch your temp, too... all that blending/chopping generates a lot of friction. About 3 minutes was what I needed per batch (4 batches of about 2.5-3 lbs in my 14 cup food processor). If you look closely at the sliced photo, you'll see a few tiny air pockets in the meat. It's hard to get the batter all packed down super tight in the stuffer - harder than normal sausage meat. Do the best you can... Definitely show us how your batch turns out!
 
This is an inspiring post. I have been meaning to make hot dogs and these look so good I may just get off my posterior.

Points!

Disco
 
 
This is an inspiring post. I have been meaning to make hot dogs and these look so good I may just get off my posterior.

Points!

Disco
Thanks, Disco!

This batch isn't going to last long... as in I don't think I'll even need to vacuum seal and freeze any. Make some up! You'll be glad you did.
 
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