sous vide essentials: the perfect hotdog

How To Make sous vide essentials: the perfect hotdog

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  Step 1
  PREP/PREPARE
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  Step 2
  The Goal: There are many things that you have to do right to be a successful caterer. But, two stand out to me: 1. Never make your clients sick. Making people sick, and sending them to hospital is really bad for business. 2. Come up with recipes that, although standard fare, somehow taste better when you serve them. With that in mind, this recipe is how to create the perfect succulent hotdog.
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  Step 3
  Cooking your doggies: Okay, we need to get something straight, you do not cook hotdogs… I repeat, you do not cook hotdog. You only reheat them. You can take a hotdog straight out of the package, and eat it. They are already cooked… you probably already knew that. So the question is: What is the best way to “reheat” a hotdog, and that is exactly what we are going to talk about.
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  Step 4
  The Best Doggie: This whole process begins with the actual hotdog. In my opinion two of the best companies are Nathan’s, and Hebrew National. Make sure that they are all beef , or angus. And, one other thing, I prefer my dogs with the skin on. It give them that satisfying “snap” when you bite into them.
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  Step 5
  The Best Temperature: Believe it or not, there is a “best” temperature to reheat your doggies. I did a lot of research on this, and then performed my own tests… And, the winner is 155f (68c). This temperature is only valid if you are working with good, all-beef, doggies. I tried cooking them at lower temps, and higher temps, and 155f (68c), is the “sweet” spot for the perfect juicy dog.
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  Step 6
  The Crisping: Okay, you cannot just take those reheated doggies, and eat them… Well, actually you could, but we need a finishing step. That involve crisping those bad boys in a high-heat skillet, or a quick trip on the grill.
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  Step 7
  Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
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  Step 8
  Add the doggies, melted butter, salt, and pepper, to a Ziploc bag, squeeze as much as out of the bag as you can, and place into a pot with the sous vide machine, set to 155f (68c).
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  Step 9
  Allow the dogs to stay in the water bath for about an hour.
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  Step 10
  Remove from the water bath, and place the dogs, and the melted butter, into a hot skillet.
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  Step 11
  Roll back and forth in the skillet for about 1 – 2 minutes, until the skin crisps up, and the dogs turn a nice red. Remember they are already cooked, you just want to crisp the skin.
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  Step 12
  PLATE/PRESENT
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  Step 13
  Serve with your favorite condiments. Enjoy.
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  Step 14
  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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