Criss Cross Dogs

Criss Cross Dogs

This isn’t fine dining; it’s filthy street food, but there are times and places when this is absolutely spot on. Adding a criss-cross to the Frankfurter and cooking it on the grill adds texture, and by cooking them over charcoal, the flavour is amped up. I tried them in a pan on the hob, it’s nowhere near as good, so do go to the effort of lighting your grill. 

Now you can top them with what you want, in the pictures, I used some pickled red onion instead of fried onions, but the toppings need to be as dirty as a Frankfurter is in the sausage world. 

Method

1. Set up your Big Green Egg for a direct cook at 200°C.
2. Pop in your stainless steel griddle, it’s perfect for Frankfurters.
3. Using two wooden spoons laid flat on either side of a Frankfurter, use your knife to cut a criss-cross pattern into the sausages. It should be about 5-7mm squares. The spoons are there to stop you from cutting all the way through the Frankfurter. 
4. Grill your sausages for about 15-20 minutes, turning every 3 or 4 minutes and drizzling with oil. The sausages will curl up a little. Try and cook all sides and crisp up the criss-cross sections a little. They’re safe to eat from cold, so you don’t need to test their temperature, just serve them when you like the look of them. 
5. If you’re using plastic cheese, pop this into your roll.
6. Once your Frankfurters are cooked, add them to your hot dog rolls and add your toppings. 
7. Serve with a napkin and wear an old T-shirt, you are going to drip ketchup and Frenches all down your front!

You can buy a criss-cross cutter if you like your patterns really even.