The Char Dog

The hot dog is one of the world’s greatest food development.  In my life it started out as an Oscar Meyer Hot Dog on a bun with catsup  and escalated beyond the Vienna Pure Beef dog into many sausages from all around the globe.  My favorite “dog”  I call the “Char Dog”, which is cooked on a griddle, or over charcoal to a darkened slice of heaven and then it is ready to be made into a sandwich.

Hot Dogs
Bacon slices
Red Onions
Buns
Swiss cheese
Sharp Cheddar
Mayonnaise
Pickle relish
Dark Mustard
Sweet pickle slices for garnish

Select your choice for the hot dog, but make sure that it is longer than the bun.  The dog pictured is almost 3 1/4 oz. of spicy beef and pork, my current favorite, which comes from Trig’s Smokehouse in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.   The bun is is a split top sesame seeded bun, a good inch shorter than the dog.  Chopped red onions have a nice “bite” to them, but really any  yellow onion is great.

Cook sausages on a ribbed griddle, as I am doing here, or even over a charcoal grill.  Even a fry pan works.  

Cut into each end of the dog making an “X” design, as well as making many slits along the dog.  The slits will show up as the dog chars.  Turn over the dog several times during the cooking.  The dogs shown in the picture are not quite done to my satisfaction.  I like them really chared.

While the dogs cook, in another pan cook a bacon slice for each dog,

Generously spread mayonnaise on both the bottom and top bun.  Now you build the sandwich layering from the bottom  On the bottom bun  generously spoon mustard, pickle relish and chopped onions on the mayonnaise.  Now layer, starting with the nicely charred dog, a slice of bacon,  a slice of cheddar cheese and top with a  slice of Swiss cheese.  Use a Gruyere, or Emmentaler which melt marvelously.   Close the bun slightly, line the prepared Char Dogs up on a baking sheet and put in the broiler until the cheese melts and the bun is toasty.    Enjoy.    It is a wonderfully sloppy sandwich.