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!!

If you want to see the different things that we use in operation our be sure to check out our new Amazon Store.

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Print Recipe

4 from 13 votes

Smoked Chicken Hot Dog

a delicious smoked sausage

Prep Time1 day d

Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time1 day d 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

How much do you want to make? 1000 grams

Ingredients

Metric – US Customary

• 400 g chicken breast
• 400 g chicken thigh meat
• 200 g chicken fat
• 20 g potato starch
• 16 g kosher salt
• 2.5 g insta cure #1 if you don't plan on smoking you can omit this ingredient
• 2 g white pepper
• 3.5 g garlic powder
• 1 g nutmeg powder
• 200 g crushed ice
• sheep casings 22/24

Instructions

• Debone your chicken and remove the skin. Cut all of your chicken meat and chicken fat into small pieces and set in the freezer to chill. You want the temp 32f-35f
• Grind your very chilled meat and fat separately 2 times. First on a 6mm plate then on a 3mm plate. Be sure that you meat and fat are very cold during this process and keep them separate. Have your meat in one bowl and your fat in a different bowl.
• Add all of the spices EXCEPT the potato starch to the meat only and mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Place the fat in the fridge as well.
• The next day clean and rehydrate your sheep casings
• Take your meat and fat out of the fridge and rechill it. Once your meat gets to around 30F place the meat only in your food processor. Chop the meat for 60 seconds. Half way through add 1/2 of the ice and continue chopping. The end result should be a smooth farce (batter)
• Once your meat has been properly chopped add the fat and the rest of the ice and continue to chop on high. Run the food processor for 60 – 75 seconds till you achieve a smooth paste again. Finally add the potato starch and chop for another 20-30 seconds or till everything is well incorporated.
• Stuff your mince meat into the sheep casings, link, and prick out any air pockets.
• Cold smoke your hot dogs for 1-2 hours then poach in 170f- 175f water bath for 30 minutes
• Once poached, cool the sausages down and refrigerate or freeze. To eat simply heat back up by grilling, deep frying, or poaching. Serve with a side of chips (french fries)

If you plan on hot smoking these sausages

• be sure to add a pan of very hot steaming water to the inside of your smoker. This will help keep the hot dogs moist and give you a nice "snap"!

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