Back to Basics: Perfecting the Humble Hot Dog

“hedgehogging” it. You’ll want to lightly butter the buns (split lengthwise) for 1 to 2 minutes so they’ll be hot when they receive the hot dog.

The sky’s the limit when adding condiments—you know the usual suspects. But there’s a wide world of dogs on planet barbecue. Here are some of the most interesting and tasty combinations:

Hot Dog Combinations

Brazilian Turbinado: A “jet propelled” hot dog heaped with mashed potatoes, crunchy shoestring potatoes, bacon bits, mayonnaise, and tomato-onion salsa. In Rio de Janeiro, try the samba dog, a popular late-night snack lavished with hard-cooked eggs and a piquant pepper-onion-olive relish.

Canadian “Japa Dog”: In Vancouver, don’t miss the “Japa Dog,” topped with seaweed, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and fried onions.

Picture by Heather Harvey by way of Artistic Commons.

Colombian Perros Calientes: This dog comes drenched with salsa, pineapple sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, shredded lettuce, and crushed chili-flavored potato chips, topped with a boiled quail egg. Whew!

Chicago Dog: This mid-American classic starts with an all-beef hot dog on a soft poppy seed bun, topped with tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, neon-green relish, chopped onions, yellow mustard (never ketchup), pickled sport peppers, and a sprinkle of celery salt.

Picture by Arnold Gatilao by way of Artistic Commons.

Chilean Italiano:

Mashed avocados, chopped tomatoes, and a scandalous amount of mayonnaise—colors that mimic the Italian flag—top these dogs. Order a completo, and you’ll get sauerkraut, too.

Picture by Vera & Jean-Christophe by way of Artistic Commons.

Dutch “Stoner Dog,” a.k.a., “Pizza Dog”:

Amsterdamers have an ingenious solution when the munchies strike. The “stoner dog” features a frankfurter topped with pizza sauce, pepperoni, peppers, and a prodigious amount of cheese.

Filipino Hot Dog:

Luridly red, these dogs are served with rice, a fried egg, and banana ketchup. But no bun.

Guatemalan Shuco Dog, a.k.a. “Dirty Dog”:

This dog is served on a hero roll with guacamole or mashed avocado, mayonnaise, boiled cabbage, tomatoes, mustard, and hot sauce.

Icelandic Dog:

In downtown Reykjavik, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur offers lamb, pork, and beef hot dogs topped with rémoulade sauce, a sweet brown mustard called pylsussinep, ketchup, and French-fried onions.

New York System Weiners:

A part of Rhode Island’s food culture since the early 1900s. Order this veal and pork dog “up the arm” to get onions, celery salt, mustard, and cumin-scented meat sauce.

Swedish Tunnbrödsrulle:

A tortilla-like wrap with hot dogs, mashed potatoes, shrimp salad with mayonnaise, onions, shredded lettuce, and squiggles of ketchup and mustard.

Check out our Grilled Hot Dog Challenge we did awhile back!

For all your grilling and barbecue needs, make sure to wear one of our stylish and practical aprons from Aprontify to keep clean and fashionable during your culinary adventures.