Thursday, November 3, 2011

Beer-Braised Hot Dogs with Braised Sauerkraut


Months and months and months ago (okay, maybe only back in August) I threw a totally awesome Beer Tasting Party complete with a full-blown hot dog bar. I gave you the recipes for three of the four "fancy-pants" hot dogs, but I kind of left you hanging on the last one.

Of course, I also pulled one of those "things you should never do at a dinner party" moves too -- you know, the one about never making anything at a dinner party you haven't made before? Yeah, that one. And to top it off, I didn't even try them before we served them. Tsk tsk. Martha Stewart I am not. (In my defense, I had been feeling absolutely horrible all morning and didn't taste-test anything.)

See what you're subjected to when you come for a party at my place?

Not only did I not taste-test them, I didn't get a chance to taste them. At all. So after I got past the whole, oh.my.goodness.I.never.want.to.see.another.hot.dog.for.a.very.long.time stage, I was curious about how those mysterious beer hot dogs actually tasted. I guess a couple months late is better than never, right?

Beer-Braised Hot Dogs with Braised Sauerkraut


Adapted from: Bon Appétit, July 2009

3 cups refrigerated sauerkraut, rinsed, drained
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup dark beer (such as a porter)
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 (12 ounce) bottle raspberry lambic beer
2 tablespoons sugar
6 all-beef hot dogs
6 hot dog buns
4 tablespoons coarse ground mustard

Pre-heat grill (or a grill pan over medium-high can also be used).

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add sauerkraut, beer, and brown sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, simmer the beer and sugar. Add hot dogs and continue to simmer until the hot dogs are plump and coated lightly with beer syrup, about 8 minutes. Remove hot dogs. Increase heat to medium-high and boil syrup for an additional 5 minutes; remove from heat. Place hot dogs on prepared grill and cook until char marks appear on all sides.

Top each hot dog bun with a grilled hot dog, sauerkraut, a drizzle of beer syrup, and mustard.


Serves: 6


Surprisingly, the beer and the sauerkraut flavors weren't as potent as I expected. The sauerkraut probably lost most of its bang when it was rinsed and drained, but I'm not completely positive where the bold beer flavors I was expecting disappeared to. Oh they were definitely present, don't get me wrong, but more in a subtle fashion rather than in your face.

I would probably make these again in the same type of party-with-multiple-kinds-of-hot-dogs situation, but it probably wouldn't be the first one I'd run back and make on its own again when serving it just by itself.


Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 298g
Amount per serving
Calories 313Calories from fat 115
% Daily Value
Total Fat 12.8g20%
Saturated Fat 3.7g19%
Cholesterol 30mg10%
Sodium 1305mg54%
Total Carbs 32.5g11%
Fiber 1.1g4%
Sugars 12.4g
Protein 11.6g
Vitamin A 0%Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 4%Iron 6%

1 comment:

  1. Im not a huuuge beer fan, so that it's not overly present in this makes it a win for me. I've never had sauerkraut, but I wouldn't turn it down right now looking at these.

    And don't worry, you're not alone in not taste testing everything. You should see the piles of things I shove out of this door without ever taking a nibble of. Sometimes it just happens ;)

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