Homemade Hot Dogs

From the book Home Sausage Making

The lowly hot dog is probably the most widely consumed sausage in the world. Its somewhat scurrilous reputation stems from the fact that the commercial product is, to varying degrees, loaded with fat, cereal binders, and chemicals. The commercial hot dog is a nutritional nightmare.

This doesn't have to be the case. This version of the hot dog doesn't look rosy red like the tube steaks in the grocery store because it doesn't contain any nitrates or coloring agents. Recipe makes two pounds.

Ingredients:

casings, natural or synthetic

1/4 cup very finely minced onion

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/4 teaspoon finely ground mustard seed

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon freshly fine ground

white pepper

1 egg white

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (optional, but most people are accustomed to having their hot dogs rather sweet)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 pound pork fat, cubed

1 pound lean pork, cubed

1/2 pound lean beef, cubed

1. With a mortar and pestle, or in a blender or food processor, make a puree of the onion, garlic, coriander, marjoram, mace, mustard seed, and paprika.

2. Add the pepper, egg white, sugar, salt, and milk, and mixnthoroughly.

3. Spread the pork fat cubes on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer for half an hour. They grind more easily if well chilled.

4. Grind the pork, beef, and fat through the fine blade separately. Mix and grind them again.

5. This next step is rather sticky so hold your hands under cold running water and leave them wet for mixing. Mix the pureed seasonings and ground meat thoroughly with your hands.

6. Chill the mixture for half an hour, then put the mixture through the fine blade of the grinder once more.

7. Stuff the casings and twist them off into six-inch links.

8. Parboil the links (without separating them) in gently simmering water for twenty minutes.

9. Place the franks in a bowl of ice water. Chill thoroughly.

11\0. Remove, pat dry, and refrigerate. Because they aren't precooked they can be refrigerated for up to a week or they can be wrapped or frozen.

Would anyone go to this much trouble to make hotdogs with so many varieties available at the supermarket? Probably not, but at least this recipe shows the time and effort it takes to make the humble hot  dog.