Foodie Friday: The Grown-Up Version Of A Hot Dog

Hot dogs are easily one of the favorite food staples for kids, but sometimes even adults get a craving for a good ol’ hot dog. However, unless I’m at the ball park or passing a hot dog cart in NYC (what is it about those NYC hot dogs?!?) I prefer my hot dogs to be a bit more, shall we say, sophisticated. This means, I like alcohol to be involved.

Instead of buying a package of Hebrew National hot dogs, I either head down to my local butcher or to the grocery store to buy a package of sausages. If you’re buying pre-packed sausages, I have a few favorites. Try the Chicken & Apple from Aidells or the Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe’s. Both are excellent. You can buy these ahead of time and freeze them since this recipe actually works best with frozen sausage.

This is what you need for the rest of the recipe:

Serves 4

1 package of 4 sausages

2 12oz. bottles of dark ale/beer

1 large white onion (cut into rings)

4 good quality buns (I like the small square or round sourdough rolls from Trader Joe’s)

1 bottle of good quality mustard. Save the French’s Mustard for the kids.

I like to make these adult hot dogs with a side of  flavorful grilled veggies. Our favorite veggies to grill are zucchini, asparagus, and eggplant. Simply cut or slice the veggies and brush them with olive oil. Sprinkle on fresh ground pepper, sea salt, lemon pepper, red chili pepper, and garlic powder. Throw on the grill along with the sausages.

Sausage Recipe: (continues…)