Hot dogs or Brats

Spectacle • May 25, 2008 4:56 pm
I know you'll eat a hamburger tomorrow, but which one of these would you prefer to pig out on?

Brats as in bratwursts, mind you.
Pie • May 25, 2008 9:57 pm
Anything spicier -- haven't had a good brat in years.
lumberjim • May 25, 2008 10:09 pm
spectacle, thread tools, add a poll to this thread.


id rather a burger to a dog, but a brot to a dog easy. with mustard. NO KETCHUP! you'll fail the cellar entry quiz on that one.
Cloud • May 25, 2008 10:09 pm
YES, ketchup and cheese on hot dogs!

I can't fail the entry test--it's way too late!
lumberjim • May 25, 2008 10:40 pm
get out!
Cloud • May 26, 2008 12:33 am
nope! (slowly and sloppily eats big plate of hot dogs in front of ljim. With cheese. and CATSUP!)

(slurp!)
Sundae • May 26, 2008 5:59 am
English mustard and ketchup.
And I don't really know the difference between hot dogs and brats.

But it's allowed.
I am a furriner.
DanaC • May 26, 2008 8:13 am
I think the brat is more substantial, with a tougher outer skin?

I like me some hotdog.....with lots of bright yelow english mustard and tomato ketchup oh yeah.
skysidhe • May 26, 2008 9:49 am
...and don't forget the sometimes chopped onion,relish and chili.

I just bought Oscar Meyer beef dogs on Saturday. Hebrew National is another yummy dog.I don't eat alot of hotdogs but if I do go hog wild then they have to be gooders.

A good brat does have it's place though.

What are other peoples favorite brands btw? If I can intrude on specs poll.
zippyt • May 26, 2008 10:41 am
Johnsonville brats ,
Spicey brown mustard

In Iceland they had Lamb dogs , brown mustard and onions
YUMMMMMMY !!!!
regular.joe • May 26, 2008 10:55 am
Hell yea, Johnsonville brats, on the BBQ, just a little blackened.
skysidhe • May 26, 2008 11:22 am
yeah Johnsonville IS SOO good.
BrianR • May 26, 2008 11:34 am
Tonight it's gonna be burgers and pork chops and maybe a nice thick steak (it IS Texas after all), along with a few cold ones raised to my comrades in arms lost and injured in battle with the enemy.

I remember.
Cicero • May 26, 2008 12:30 pm
Peppered Lamb patties and Thai Seasoned, Chicken.
freshnesschronic • May 26, 2008 2:55 pm
Ballpark hot dogs. Michael Jordan advertised them in the 90s and they are my favorite.
bluecuracao • May 26, 2008 3:07 pm
We'll be having Hebrew National dawgs today, though my favorites are Nathan's. Mustard and ketchup on mine, please!

If it had been my choice to make, I would've picked BOTH brats and dogs...but I was the one too lazy to go to the grocery store today.
Drax • May 26, 2008 3:10 pm
Brats, FTMFW!
elSicomoro • May 26, 2008 3:12 pm
April and I had dogs from Woofies a little while ago...mmmm...
DanaC • May 26, 2008 4:27 pm
My favourite hotdogs are the fairground/carboot-sale kiosk ones...or the little ones they sell at Ikea.
Shawnee123 • May 27, 2008 2:34 pm
Yuck. I tend to not eat beef-stuffed pork or pork-stuffed beef.

Oh, and brats stink sumpin' awful.
dar512 • May 27, 2008 4:11 pm
Johnsonville brats boiled in beer and onions till they're mostly cooked.

Then put on the grill for about 10 minutes.

The best. Juicy on the inside, crispy skin.

And LJ is right in this case. Putting ketchup on brats is an offense against nature.
dar512 • May 27, 2008 4:17 pm
On the other hand, I have to admit that what I actually made yesterday was ribs. Baby-backs, slathered with mustard, brown sugar and spices. Then slow-cooked in the smoker for five hours. (A mixture of hickory and oak) One of the many pleasures of BBQ is making the whole neighborhood jealous. :D

They were very tasty.
Clodfobble • May 27, 2008 6:10 pm
Ha. You know what I made yesterday?


At lunchtime I had a sandwich from that local cheesesteak place I've talked about before.

At dinner... I had a sandwich from Subway.


Happy Memorial Day!!
TheMercenary • May 27, 2008 9:40 pm
Red Beans and Rice with brats cut up in them.
Shawnee123 • May 28, 2008 5:15 pm
I love red beans and rice...but I put smoked sausage in. Yummers! (Why do I like smoked sausage but not brats? Ida know...I'm weird like that!)
footfootfoot • May 28, 2008 9:14 pm
When I was a kid I liked hot dogs butterflied and fried crispy, then on toasted bread with mustard.
lumberjim • May 28, 2008 10:11 pm
footfootfoot;457692 wrote:
When I was a kid I liked hot dogs butterflied and fried crispy, then on toasted bread with mustard.


i was always pissed when we didn't have Martins Potato (hot dog) rolls. white bread wrapped around a hot dog always seemed so ghetto.

Image

these are burger rolls...i couldn't find a good pic of the hot dog rolls
footfootfoot • May 28, 2008 10:30 pm
Potato rolls are the shiznit. What can I say about the bread? For a while I would only eat any kind of sandwich on toasted Arnold's white. Except pbj. That could be untoasted. PBJ on toast was only for certain moods.

I think I was a picky eater.

I didn't eat cold cuts until I was in my 20s.
Urbane Guerrilla • May 30, 2008 2:46 pm
Sundae Girl;456956 wrote:
English mustard and ketchup.
And I don't really know the difference between hot dogs and brats.


Wieners on the one hand, bratwursts on the other. Coarser grind, natural casings. American sausages have a decidedly German cast.

I agree bratwurst doesn't dance well with ketchup, but mustard is fine, und mit Sauerkraut.
Sundae • May 30, 2008 4:51 pm
Since seeing V's hotdogs on the bbq I have been doing some reading up.
Mostly, what we put on the bbq needs cooking. If we're having hotdogs they are usually just boiled (except at the cinema, where they are rolled over a heat source?!) But we also call sausages hotdogs if they are bbq'd and then served in hotdog buns.

Even at a fair or from a mobile catering van, the items sold will be some kind of (previously raw) sausage, although they are technically fried by being cooked on a hotplate.

I'm fascinated :)
Happy Monkey • May 30, 2008 5:16 pm
Panting is much less annoying than a spoiled kid, so I've gotta go with the hot dogs.
binky • May 30, 2008 6:50 pm
dar512;457355 wrote:
Johnsonville brats boiled in beer and onions till they're mostly cooked.

Then put on the grill for about 10 minutes.

The best. Juicy on the inside, crispy skin.

And LJ is right in this case. Putting ketchup on brats is an offense against nature.


Putting ketchup on anything is an offense against nature :vomit:
zippyt • Jun 1, 2008 11:30 pm
How Brats are done in OUR house !!
Image
Turbodog beer , onion , Johnsonville Brats
Image
Get the Onions going ,
Image
Add the beer and the brats
Image
Boil them on down , but save the Pan Juice ( You WILL need that for later !!)
Image
A little time on the grill , thats what the top rack is for
Image
Some pan Juice and some Good Grainy Deli mustard and its ALL good !!!
Image
Of corse a Fillet and some tatters and green beens don't hurt eather !!!
classicman • Jun 1, 2008 11:51 pm
nice zip! - now I'm hungry!
Flint • Jun 2, 2008 10:51 am
Goddang, zip... I'm totally doin' that.
barefoot serpent • Jun 2, 2008 1:41 pm
Brats -- but only if when you bite into it there is a bubble of molten grease that squirts directly into your eye or onto a brand new tie.
jinx • Jun 2, 2008 2:09 pm
I'm gonna try that too Zip, and I don't even really like brats. I think its the onions that got me...
Flint • Jun 2, 2008 3:10 pm
For me, it was the whole reduction sauce thing.
dar512 • Jun 2, 2008 3:33 pm
barefoot serpent;458813 wrote:
Brats -- but only if when you bite into it there is a bubble of molten grease that squirts directly into your eye or onto a brand new tie.

If you poke 'em with a fork before you put them on the grill, they won't split as badly and they also won't squirt in your eye.
dar512 • Jun 2, 2008 3:48 pm
Nice pictures, Zip. That's pretty much what I had in mind here:

dar512;457355 wrote:
Johnsonville brats boiled in beer and onions till they're mostly cooked.

Then put on the grill for about 10 minutes.


But I don't do the reduction thing.

Another tip is to brown some onion chunks on the grill with the brats. They make a nice aroma and are a nice topping to the brats (if you don't do the reduction thing).
Flint • Jun 2, 2008 4:44 pm
If you poke 'em, so they don't split... how do you know when they're done?
dar512 • Jun 2, 2008 5:10 pm
I take no chances with pork. I make sure there's no pink left in the center.
footfootfoot • Jun 2, 2008 9:30 pm
Pork, don't worry about. A friend of mine who is a large animal vet said there hasn't been a case of trichinosis in this country in over 30 years. Then again she raises organic pigs. Well, clean-ish, well lighted, gently smothered with a feather pillow in their sleep.

Chickens, on the other hand. OMG. clean em and clean em again and keeep those fuckers cold as ice until you are ready to cook them through and through.

Wait, we're talking about snausages. never mind. cook that pork.
Sundae • Jun 2, 2008 9:34 pm
It's rarely the animals these days, and all in the cooking.
Chicken & pork - pink is only cute on one type of Barbie.
glatt • Jun 3, 2008 9:08 am
best bratwursts are the white ones made of finely ground veal.
dar512 • Jun 3, 2008 9:57 am
glatt;459066 wrote:
best bratwursts are the white ones made of finely ground veal.

I've had those. I thought they were too bland.
glatt • Jun 3, 2008 10:16 am
I've had bland white ones too. They often have some sort of green herb in them.

The kind I'm thinking of have a mild spiciness, and are awesome.

Mainly it's the fine grinding I like. I don't like the coarse ground wursts that much. They tend to have pockets of fat so you get squirted when you bite into them. If you think of a typical hot dog, the frankfurter, it's all one consistency inside. You don't get gristle chunks in your teeth because the gristle is ground up for you. These are ground up like that.
DanaC • Jun 3, 2008 10:40 am
Veal is one meat I will not eat. It tastes great, but the price in terms of animal exploitation is too great for me to enjoy it.
glatt • Jun 3, 2008 10:45 am
But these are the scraps, that would otherwise be thrown away. If you are going to exploit a baby cow, you might as well us it all rather than waste some.
DanaC • Jun 3, 2008 11:11 am
*blinks* ok.
zippyt • Jun 3, 2008 10:07 pm
For me, it was the whole reduction sauce thing.

We use Turbo dog from Abita , dark beer , strong . sorta salty taste . good beer to drink , Better to cook with !!!
zippyt • Jun 3, 2008 10:20 pm
Jinx and Flint , let me know How it comes out !!
PICS !!!
Flint • Jun 4, 2008 12:01 am
Is that one of those really hoppy beers?
zippyt • Jun 4, 2008 12:21 am
If you slug back 3-4 of them YOU will be Hoppy !!!!!
Sundae • Jun 4, 2008 5:22 am
DanaC;459097 wrote:
Veal is one meat I will not eat. It tastes great, but the price in terms of animal exploitation is too great for me to enjoy it.

Veal production has come a long way. Crates are no longer used in the UK or in Europe. I figure 9/10 you'd be more ethically justified in eating veal than in having a KFC. And certainly more so than eating non free range pork. Pigs are as intelligent as dogs, and are often factory farmed.

I'd eat veal if I knew where it came from. The only factory farmed meat I buy is for Diz (Sainsbury's Basics chicken wings and legs). And even that troubles my conscience.
DanaC • Jun 4, 2008 9:02 am
KFC in the UK have a policy of using free range chickens
Sundae • Jun 4, 2008 9:31 am
DanaC;459340 wrote:
KFC in the UK have a policy of using free range chickens

I stand corrected. You probably shouldn't have told me that though.
Zinger Tower Burger. Nom nom nom....
glatt • Jun 4, 2008 9:53 am
DanaC;459340 wrote:
KFC in the UK have a policy of using free range chickens


In the US, "free range" only means that the birds have access to the outside, it doesn't say how large that outside area is or what it's like out there. You can have a huge chicken house with a little hole in the wall leading to a 2 meter square gravel pen, and call your chickens "free range." I wonder what UK regulations are like.
Sundae • Jun 4, 2008 11:09 am
From the DEFRA website (UK Ministry)
Barn
The barn system has a series of perches and feeders at different levels. The maximum stocking density is 9 birds per square metre and there must be at least 250cm square of litter area/bird. Perches for the birds must be installed to allow 15 cm of perch per hen. There must be at least 10cm of feeder/bird and at least one drinker/10 birds. There must be one nest for every 7 birds or 1 square metre of nest space for every 120 birds. Water and feeding troughs are raised so that the food is not scattered

Free range
In free-range systems, the birds are housed as described in the barn system above. In addition birds must have continuous daytime access to open runs which are mainly covered with vegetation and with a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare.

A hectare is 10,000 square metres = 2.471 acres
glatt • Jun 4, 2008 12:02 pm
So 2,500 birds per 10,000 square meters. I wonder why they didn't just say 4 birds per square meter? That doesn't sound like a lot of room, but it's better than the conditions inside the buildings.
Flint • Jun 8, 2008 10:53 pm
zippyt;459288 wrote:
Jinx and Flint , let me know How it comes out !!
PICS !!!

I told my wife about the beer/brats w/reduction sauce and she agreed we have to do that. And I told her we have to take pics.
Cloud • Jun 8, 2008 10:58 pm
just what is the actual different between hot dogs and brats, anyway?
Flint • Jun 8, 2008 10:59 pm
60% less anus-meat?
zippyt • Jun 8, 2008 11:14 pm
99.9990% more better than Hot dogs !!
Cloud • Jun 8, 2008 11:29 pm
not according to the poll
zippyt • Jun 8, 2008 11:35 pm
Most of theses folks are vegans any way , trust a meat eater , brarts ROCK !!!!
Cloud • Jun 8, 2008 11:40 pm
I voted hot dogs. I'm not a big sausage fan, and brats have that tough skin that always squicks me.
zippyt • Jun 8, 2008 11:44 pm
squicks me

new term , explain !!
Cloud • Jun 8, 2008 11:50 pm
well. . . . usually I use it as a sex term, but since we are talking sausages . . .

kinks and squicks.

kinks--likes; turn ons
squicks--dislikes; turn offs
zippyt • Jun 9, 2008 12:04 am
a good sauasge Should squickie in yer teeth
Radar • Jun 9, 2008 12:45 am
skysidhe;457005 wrote:
yeah Johnsonville IS SOO good.


I'm with you guys. I was seriously considering opening a dog cart a few years ago and I did my homework. I like Johnsonville brats, especially beer brats.

As far as dogs go, Hebrew National is a good dog, but Best Kosher kicks their ass. My uncle Manny has a dog cart and he sells Sabretts. They're a pretty good beef dog with a slightly thicker skin that snaps when you bite into it and keeps the juice inside.
Radar • Jun 9, 2008 12:51 am
Cloud;460647 wrote:
just what is the actual different between hot dogs and brats, anyway?


Brats require longer cooking periods because they are raw meat and dogs are processed and pre-cooked. Brats are normally grilled while dogs are grilled, boiled, or steamed.

Bear steamed dogs are fantastic. Beer brats are actually soaked in beer and onions before cooking.
richlevy • Jun 14, 2008 7:28 pm
Hebnats rock! Now that they make a %97 fat free dog, my wife can eat them on Weight Watchers (1 point per dog).

I do like the occasional chicken sausage from Trader Joes. I've never tried raw brats. I have cooked raw turkey sausage.

I used to eat Bests Kosher but haven't seen them around lately. If I remember correctly, they had a spicy beef sausage that was great (not a lot of prepared kosher spicy food out there).
Cloud • Jun 14, 2008 8:32 pm
thanks for clearing that up, Radar. that makes sense
skysidhe • Jun 15, 2008 11:23 am
:drool: I'm hungry for a hotdog already.
wolf • Jun 16, 2008 1:28 am
Most recently brats, but given my druthers, I'd have voted for both.

I consider brats a special occasion grillin' food. They are something that I love, but don't usually get shelf space in the fridge. I happened to grab some during my last trip to the market because I had a hankering for them, but since my apt complex disallows real grilling, the George Foreman version is kind of an anticlimax. They get crispish, have grill marks, but lack the tasty, smoky flavor that I favor.
Urbane Guerrilla • Jun 16, 2008 1:49 am
Try basting 'em with Liquid Smoke (tm).
wolf • Jun 16, 2008 10:41 am
I will not use artificial flavoring. It is anathema.

It is a sign of the epoxyclips.

I do not like it, Sam I am.

I would not use it on a ham.

Bad, urbane, bad.
dar512 • Jun 16, 2008 1:15 pm
No help to you, Wolf, but back when I was an apartment dweller, I would refuse to sign with a complex that did not allow grilling -- and I made sure to let them know why I wouldn't rent there.
Flint • Jun 16, 2008 1:28 pm
Around here, if I recall correctly, it was a city code specifying X number of feet from dwelling, and the apt made you sign to that effect. Which I took to mean, if you can set up a grill that is outside X number of feet from any unit that would be okay. For example, I have seen people grilling at the far corner of the gates around their apt complex. And...don't they have grills at the pool area?
Urbane Guerrilla • Jun 18, 2008 2:44 am
My condo forbids charcoal fueled grills on the unit balconies but allows gas fueled ones. Something to do, I believe, with a perceived fire hazard if burning coals are spilled on wooden balcony floors. How they view the risk of an entire propane bottle going up in one fell whoosh -- remoter? -- I don't know.