Smoked Chicken Hot Dogs

I just love a hot dog. It doesn’t matter the protein either. Something about making it myself and that velvety smooth emulsified texture makes it one of my favorite types of sausages and when it comes to emulsified sausages, texture is king. It’s got to have a springy bounce with a good bite and a nice snap. It does take a little practice to really hone in your emulsified sausage making skills but in time you’ll be able to make mortadella, weisswurst, bologna, and lots more.

You will need some special equipment in order to make a good hot dog. For starters a good food processor with sharp blades (we use one called Robot Coupe) is a great tool for making emulsified sausages (and lots of other things). The Robot Coupe is quite possibly the best food processor I’ve ever owned and trust me when I tell you, I run a commercial kitchen and this guy does the work of 4 employees. It’s a little pricy but you get what you pay for. Just make sure your food processor has a strong motor and sharp blades. If the blades are dull, you will “whip” air into the meat batter causing the texture to become pillowy.

No matter the food processesor you choose to use just make sure it has a strong motor (commercial grade). I’ve seen many folks burn up their residental food processors trying to make emulsified sausages.

After your sausage is made it’s time to cook. You have several options here.

If you don’t have a smoker another great way to cook your emulsified sausage is sous vide. Cooking sous vide allows you to cook at a lower temperature ensuring that your hot dogs stay juicy with a great texture. We use the Kitchen Boss Immersion Circulator coupled with the Kitchen Boss Vacuum sealer to make this happen. To cook your hot dogs sous vide just vacuum seal your hot dogs and set your immersion circulator to 145f and once it gets to temperature place the bag of hot dogs in the preheated water and cook for 2 hours. Voila. It’s as easy as that.

If you don’t have an immersion circulator you could always poach your hot dogs for 18-20 minutes in 175f water. Just make sure to manage the temperature so it doesn’t get too hot.

Follow basic emulsified sausage preparation practices when making this sausage.

1. Clean and sanitize all of your equipment.
2. Keep your meat and grinder parts super cold (below 34F)
3. Grind your meat and fat separately.
4. When it comes time to chop, chop the chilled meat first till smooth.
   -keep temp under 44F
5. When you add the fat keep temp under 55F
6. Add ice cold liquid in increments to maintain a low temperature.
   -during the chopping of the meat
   -during the addition of fat
7. Chop till farce is smooth – fat and meat particles are no longer visible and everything looks homogenous.
8. Stuff the farce into sausage casings and prick out any air pockets.
9. Cook and enjoy.

Here are a few things you might find useful when making this sausage.

• Sheep Casings 22mm-24mm
• Chef Knife – KOTAI (for 15% off use discount code – 2guys )
• Breville Sous Chef Food Processor
• MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
• Sausage Pricker
• Meat Grinders
• Meat Mixers
• Sausage Stuffers
• Iodophor Sanitizer
• Stuffing Horn CleanerButcher Twine & Dispenser
• Small accurate Scale for spices
• Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds)
• Drying rack and tray
• Custom Cutting Board
• Kitchen Boss Immersion Circulator
• Kitchen Boss Vacuum Sealer
• Cold Smoke Generator

Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away. If you make this at home, I’d love to hear about how it came out!!

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