Sonoran Hotdogs
I discovered these while in exile, in Tucson Arizona after hurricane Katrina. I was only there for a few weeks and an office mate told my cousin and I about these magical wieners. We drove for about an hour to get our first one; and when we did, we had an experience in food that I’ve only very seldom had. It was easily the best hotdog I’ve ever eaten. They managed to take the simple hotdog and turn it into a food experience.
In a nutshell it’s a bacon wrapped hotdog, with fajita toppings and a drizzle of Mayo.
Sounds ridiculously simple? It is, ridiculously simple: however, the combination of flavors does some insane rollercoaster with your tastebuds.
To make this you’ll first want to decide on a hotdog. Many people use the generic cheap dogs, because you’re putting so much on top. My thought process is that you’re putting lipstick on a pig. I usually go with either kosher dogs or the all beef dogs. If the hotdog is good, you make the rest better.
For the bacon, I generally stick with hickory smoked bacon, not the thick cut. We are wrapping it around a hotdog, I don’t want to drown out the dog or overpower everything else. I want the flavors to compliment each other.
For the toppings :
Traditionally it has pinto beans, Pico, guacamole and onion.
For the pico:
Half yellow onion- diced
1 jalapeño diced
Chopped cilantro
1 beefsteak tomato or 2 Roma’s- seeded and diced
Lime juice
Salt pepper garlic powder
Mix all together and set in fridge to cool
For the pinto beans
Half yellow onion – diced
3 toes garlic – minced
Cilantro
Salt pepper garlic powder
2 cans pinto beans
2 tablespoons butter
Cool down the onion, garlic and cilantro. When cooked down add in the drained beans, bring to a simmer and let simmer 15 minutes.
Fajita
Onion
Julienne onion
Cilantro
Julienne jalapeño
Butter
Lime juice
Cool down the onion and jalapeño in butter until they get tender and singed edges. Add in lime juice and cook until dark and soft.
Guacamole
1 shallot diced
Cilantro- chopped
Lime juice
2 avocados diced
Mash the avocado and add in the other ingredients, fold to combine and set aside
Finally for the dogs;
The key to this is making sure the beginning and end of the bacon are parallel on the wiener. You can either fold the ends under the next layer or use a toothpick to hold them in place. My fingers don’t work as well as they used to, so I use the toothpick. You want to make sure it can’t unravel when it shrinks in the skillet. Making sure the edges are parallel let’s you seer that side first and let the seer keep the bacon in place.
From here it’s just a matter of cooking the bacon to the crisp level you prefer. Once done remove from the heat and start assembling.
In Tucson they use a bun called bolillo, I can’t find those outside of Tucson. It’s be honest i prefer them on the top cut hotdog buns. The top cut buns are smaller so you use less toppings and the hotdog doesn’t get drowned out with everything else. From there you place the hotdog in, the toppings you want and then drizzle some street salsa and Mayo on top. I usually top mine with beans, Pico, onion, guacamole, cheddar, street salsa and Mayo.
In any event, it looks like a lot of work to make these, but I assure it is not. It’s very simple and so flavorful that it’s a must do.
I hope you’ll try these, and enjoy them.
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