Major League Baseball is in season and my team, the Blue Jays, is back in action.
Since they play in Toronto and around the U.S., watching the Jays live is something I’m only occasionally able to do. Last year, that included a trip to Texas to watch them play the Rangers in Arlington. The journey was worth it. The Jays won both games and I snagged a foul ball.
Most often, though, I watch the Blue Jays on television. When I do and I’m hungry, I like to eat food that has a ballpark feel, and a hot dog is my preferred choice.
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website, hot-dog.org, says it was way back in 1893 that sausages became standard fare at baseball parks. That tradition was believed to have been started by Chris Von de Ahe, a German immigrant who owned a bar in St. Louis and also a professional baseball team, the St. Louis Browns.
One story suggests those sausages began being served in a bun during and after the St. Louis “Louisiana Purchase Exposition.” During that event, held in 1904, lore suggests a concessionaire named Anton Feuchtwanger loaned white gloves to his patrons to hold his piping-hot sausages when eating them.
It seemed like a good idea, until Feuchtwanger noticed most patrons walked off with the gloves, and he was running out. To solve the problem, he reportedly asked his baker brother-in-law for help and his solution was making sausage-shaped buns to serve his sausages in.
Frankfurters, also called wieners, were the preferred type served in the bun. They are a type of precooked, reheat-and-serve sausage. Because of their long, narrow shape, they were once called dachshund sausages.
In North America, that handle eventfully gave way to the name “hot dog,” as it was easier for vendors to shout out at a ball game: “Get your hot dogs here!”
When I have a hot dog at home, I sometimes keep the toppings very simple. Other times, I’ll be more adventurous. As you can see by today’s recipes, this week I chose the latter.
One I’ve called a Canada dog, because it’s flavoured with tastes from our country, such as tangy Canadian cheddar and maple-syrup-sweetened onions.
I also have a recipe for a Chicago-style hot dog. It’s not exactly like the type you might be served in Chicago, as I could not find the sport peppers usually served on it. They are pickled, medium-hot, bite-sized peppers and in my recipe, I replaced them with peperoncini, which are somewhat similar.
A Chicago-style hot dog must be all-beef, and each condiment must go on in a certain order. It would be blasphemous if ketchup were among them.
My last recipe, Bánh Mì-style hot dogs, is Asian-style, where the hot dog in each bun is dressed with a sweet and sour pickle, cilantro and hot sauce.
Bacon-wrapped Canada Dogs
I call these Canada dogs, because the hot dogs are accented with Canadian tastes, such as maple, aged cheddar and mustard. The seeds used to make mustard, such as Dijon-style, are grown in Canada.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: five minutes
Makes: four hot dogs
1 cup thinly sliced white or red onion
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp maple syrup
4 jumbo pork hot dogs
4 thin strips of bacon
4 toothpicks, each broken in half
4 hot dogs buns, split and warmed
• Mayonnaise, to taste
• Dijon-style mustard, to taste
1 cup grated old white Canadian cheddar
Place the butter in a small pot set over medium heat. When melted, add the onions and cook, stirring, until tender, about five to six minutes. Stir in the syrup, and then remove from the heat.
Wrap a strip of bacon around a hot dog. Secure the bacon at each end with a toothpick half.
Repeat with the remaining hot dogs and bacon.
Set a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the bacon-wrapped hot dogs and cook, turning occasionally, until bacon is crisp and fully cooked and hot dogs are heated through, about five to six minutes.
Spread the buns with mayonnaise and mustard. Remove toothpicks from the hot dogs, set a hot dog in each bun, top with cheese and onions, and then serve.
Chicago-style Hot Dogs
These beefy hot dogs are accented with seven different tastes. To make them truly Chicago-style hot dogs, ketchup should never be one of them.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: five minutes
Makes: four hot dogs
4 jumbo beef wieners
4 hot dog buns, preferably with poppy seeds, steamed until warm (see Note)
• yellow mustard, to taste
• green relish, to taste
• chopped onions, to taste
4 large dill pickle spears
8 small- to medium-sized pickled peperoncini peppers
4 ripe tomato slices, halved
• celery salt, to taste
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Set hot dogs in the water and cook five minutes, or until piping hot.
Place a hot dog in each steamed bun. Top each hot dog with mustard, then relish and then onion. Set a pickle spear and two half tomato slices on either side of each hot dog. Set two peppers on each hot dog, sprinkle with some celery salt and serve.
Note: You can warm the buns by setting them in a steamer basket above simmering water until heated through, about two minutes.
Bánh Mì-style Hot Dogs
Grilled hot dogs topped Vietnamese-style with a sweet and sour pickle, spicy chili sauce and cilantro.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: About six minutes
Makes: four hot dogs
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced radish
1/2 cup peeled carrot, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1/2 tsp salt
4 jumbo pork or veggie hot dogs
4 crusty hot dog buns, split and warmed
• mayonnaise, to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded head or leaf lettuce or Chinese cabbage
• Asian-style hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha, to taste
16 to 20 small cilantro sprigs
Place the water, vinegar and sugar in a small pot. Bring to a simmer for 30 seconds over medium-heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Place the radish, carrot and cucumber in a fine sieve. Add the salt and toss to coat the vegetables with it. Set the sieve over a bowl or sink and let stand a room temperature for 30 minutes.
When the 30 minutes are up, rinse the vegetables with cold water and then pat dry. Place the vegetables in a small bowl or jar. Pour in the vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate this pickle until needed below. (The pickle can be made a few hours in advance.)
Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Grill hot dogs, turning occasionally, until nicely coloured and heated through, about five minutes.
Spread the inside of each bun with mayonnaise. Set some lettuce (or cabbage) in each bun. Now set a hot dog in each bun. Top the hot dogs with some of the chili sauce, cilantro sprigs and radish, carrot and cucumber pickle, and then serve.
Food bites:This weekend, Galiano Island will host its ninth Nettlefest in and around the Galiano Island South Community Hall, 141 Sturdies Bay Rd. The festival is described as a weekend of learning about, foraging and feasting on stinging nettles. The events taking place include a nettle cooking class, forest foraging walk, community nettle harvest and nettle cooking competition. To learn more about these events and how to register, go to the Galiano Club and Community Food Program website, thegalianoclub.org/food-program
Eric Akis is the author of The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
