Hot dog question?

[Bodine]

I want to make hot dog, do I have to smoke them or can I just cook them in water. I want them to be like the one in the store but without all the crap they put in. I know about not putting the cure if I don't smoke them but what I don't know will the taste good without the smoking. I am a newbie can you tell?

[Kevin A]

I've seen recipes where, in lieu of smoking franks, the recipes call for the addition of liquid smoke.
Just be careful of the amount used as too much of it will make the end product inedible.

No cure necessary if you're making fresh franks & you keep them refrigerated before poaching them. They wont have the recognizable 'pink' the cure imbues upon the dogs, but they'll taste fine.

There are plenty of REAL frank experts here, so I'd wait & let them chime in on your query.

?Kevin

[Bodine]

Thanks for your reply. I guess I will smoke them, I want them pink, I just didn't want them to be the color of pepperoni. That's what I thought would happen with the smoke. So you're saying they will be pink if I smoke them? Does it depends on the recipe?

[Kevin A]

Thanks for your reply. I guess I will smoke them, I want them pink, I just didn't want them to be the color of pepperoni. That's what I thought would happen with the smoke. So you're saying they will be pink if I smoke them? Does it depends on the recipe?

"For those who smoke meats without cures, it will be advisable to smoke them at temperatures well above the danger zone (>160? F). Such a product will not be pink but will exhibit a typical grayish color of cooked meat. Adding cure to meats that will be smoked brings many benefits, one of them is preventing the danger of contracting food poisoning, known as botulism. Barbecued meats are smoked at much higher temperatures which eliminates the danger of Clostridium botulinum producing toxins."  -  Stanley Marianski

[Habanero Smoker]

Not using the cure, you also will not get the flavor that cure brings to the hot dogs.

Kevin;

Stanley Marianski has some good information in his books and website, but 160?F is fairly low for uncured meats. It is recommended that higher temperatures are used. Especially with sausages, you should keep the temperature at least 225?F in the smoker. Often the temperature near the surface of the meat can be much lower then the cabinet temperature. And for uncured sausage, where the bacteria is ground through out the meat, you want to bring the internal temperature up as fast as possible.

[Kevin A]

Kevin;

Stanley Marianski has some good information in his books and website, but 160?F is fairly low for uncured meats. It is recommended that higher temperatures are used. Especially with sausages, you should keep the temperature at least 225?F in the smoker. Often the temperature near the surface of the meat can be much lower then the cabinet temperature. And for uncured sausage, where the bacteria is ground through out the meat, you want to bring the internal temperature up as fast as possible.

Hab, I do certainly agree that 160 is living a bit close to the edge...but that's the way I guess Stanley likes to live.  ;)

My point in quoting him was really to point out the 'pink' issues with no cure, and the need for using cures. I guess I should've read more thoroughly the content before quoting....  :-[

For me personally, I agree - with NO cure, one is better off with the higher temps over 225 & 'quick' cooking versus low 'n slo.

-Kevin

[GusRobin]

here is a recipe that I used and ended up with ones that tasted and looked like real hot dogs.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=23585.msg282935#msg282935

[Bodine]

Thanks everyone. One last question, can I replace the corn syrup solids with something else? I have all the other ingredients but not that?

[Habanero Smoker]

Hab, I do certainly agree that 160 is living a bit close to the edge...but that's the way I guess Stanley likes to live.  ;) .......

-Kevin

They usually will not deviate from any USDA/FSIS regulation. That part of his book and site, still surprises me.