Friday, November 20, 2009

The Pickled Hot Dog Jar


When I was around twelve years old my family bought a pecan orchard on the Colorado River just north of San Saba, Texas. I was to spend many years roaming that place while honing my skills as a hunter and fisherman. I learned to cowboy, farm and most of the other skills it takes to run a large ranch and orchard. Many lessons of life were learned on that place along the Colorado. It is so funny the childhood memories that make an impression and come back to haunt you in your later years. I can remember during the school year we would leave every Friday afternoon and head south to the ranch. We would often stop at a small hamburger joint on the way, to eat and play pinball. If we didn’t go down until Saturday we would stop at a small country store, not far from the Colorado river, where we would buy snacks and a soda pop. They had strange brands of soda pop that I can not remember getting anywhere else. One of my favorites was called “Iron Hammer”. It was a grape soda made from wild mustang grapes. They had a big wheel of cheese and there were always several big glass jars on the counter with things like dill pickles, pickled eggs, pickled sausage links and pickled hot dogs. We would all get something to go with our pop and then we would sit down by the river and eat our snacks while watching the turtles and gars come up for air and break the surface of the murky river. I ran across a recipe the other day for old-time pickled hot dogs or sausage links and just had to try it. It brought back a flood of memories and the taste is authentic. There is a jar in my refrigerator right now. If you remember these things and would like to try and make these at home, here is the recipe. Feel free to adjust it as you want.

Enjoy your old-time junk food, Wild Ed


Pickled Hot Dogs or Sausage Links.

4 cups water

4 cups vinegar (I used cider vinegar)

2 TBS salt1 TBS Louisiana Hot Sauce

10 drops red food coloring

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I used one TBS)

1 tsp cayenne powder (optional)

2 garlic cloves

enough hot dogs or sausage links to fit in the jar


Put hot dogs or link sausages in a sterile jar, mix other ingredients and boil for a few minutes. Pour over links, and put in refrigerator for 7 days before eating. The longer they are in the jar the hotter they get. I used HEB classic hot dogs but plan on trying the jalapeƱo and cheese hot dogs in the next batch.

PS: They taste great with a big hunk of cheddar cheese, crackers and a grape pop.









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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yep, your brother remembers those days! Some soda pop, a hunk of longhorn cheese and hot wennie! I can still taste it! Thanks for the memories. Think I will make some up!
BabyWild

Borepatch said...

Wow, that sure looks good.

Bet it's good with Dr. Pepper, too.

Anonymous said...

It is extremely interesting for me to read the blog. Thank you for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to this matter. I would like to read a bit more soon.
Alex
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Anonymous said...

Mmmmmm, hoop cheese and pickled hot dogs! Brings back good memories! Thank you for the recipe, we're going to try it!

Anonymous said...

Have been looking for this very recipe. My Dad would take me fishing and bring a jar of pickled Hot Dogs, Eggs, Long Horn Cheese and Crackers. We would be home by afternoon, he would catch Hell from Mom cause her little girl would be so sick from eating to much that early in the morning. What great memories. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Have been looking for this very recipe. My Dad would take me fishing and bring a jar of pickled Hot Dogs, Eggs, Long Horn Cheese and Crackers. We would be home by afternoon, he would catch Hell from Mom cause her little girl would be so sick from eating to much that early in the morning. What great memories. Thanks!

Hannibal Missouri Mule said...

Dang ... gonna try this!

I'm a big Penrose fan and always wanted to try makin' it myself. And thanks to your blog, i'm gonna do just that!!

Thank 'ya.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the hot dog recipe. My husband is going to love it. I bet it will go good with different beverages too:)
OHio

Wild Ed said...

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family has through the years. Ed

Another Ed said...

Big fan of homemade pickled stuff (eggs, sausages, hot dogs). Thanks for the recipe. Here's another version of the pickled hot dog if anyone is interested.

I always look for 100% beef dogs, the naturally red ones with no artificial colors or fillers. Oscar Mayer Classic all-beef dogs fit the bill. They're the ones that come 10 to a pound (two 5-packs) and have a nice smoked flavor.

Sterilize a pickle jar (the standard 46 oz. size), cut about 15 of the dogs into thirds and toss into the jar. (Do not cook them first, as they are already cooked. Using room-temperature dogs is better than ice-cold ones right from the fridge.) You'll want to make about 3+ cups of brine for this quantity. I like to use 1 cup of saved hot pepper brine (hot cherry pepper brine is perfect for this) plus 1 cup of cider vinegar and 1 cup of water. Add to sauce pan, as well as 2 cloves of chopped garlic, a few black peppercorns and a teaspoon of sugar. The hot dogs are already very salty, so I don't add any extra salt.

Bring to a low boil for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool another 5 minutes, pour hot brine over dogs and put the lid on immediately. The cooling brine will seal the jar for you. Store in the fridge for about a week before opening them. Keep refrigerated.

(For extra heat and danger, add 2 or 3 sliced habanero peppers to the brine before cooking. Add them to the jar with everything else.)

Enjoy!

Country said...

Can't wait to eat 'em. I used to get pickled eggs and weiners at the beerjoint where my Dad played dominoes...and drank beer. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Hinckley

Anonymous said...

Omg I can't wait to make some. My Mom used to make them for us, haven't had any since she passed away. My mouth is watering.....

Anonymous said...

i have a fresh batch of keilbasa i have made/smoked. i am totally gonna have a go at this. gonna do a batch by your receipe. then another using a sour beer instead of water mixed with the vinegar. could this work, or might it be a little dangerous?

Wild Ed said...

I have made them with several types of sausage and all turned out good. I don't know about the sour beer, think I will let you try it and report back. Ed

Nicolle said...

My husband was in love with the Penrose sausages and hated when they were discontinued. He just ordered another brand and got them today, and paid an arm and a leg. I never even thought to make them. Came across your recipe and I'm going to make them soon! Thanks for posting this!

Anonymous said...

I just found your pickled sausage recipe -- I'll be making a batch today! By the way, how is that cookbook coming along?
JW

Wild Ed said...

I have enough recipes put together it is just finding the time to group and edit. Someday I will get a round too it.