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:
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 313 | Calories from fat 115 |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 12.8g | 20% |
| Saturated Fat 3.7g | 19% |
| Cholesterol 30mg | 10% |
| Sodium 1305mg | 54% |
| Total Carbs 32.5g | 11% |
| Fiber 1.1g | 4% |
| Sugars 12.4g | |
| Protein 11.6g | |
| Vitamin A 0% | Vitamin C 0% |
| Calcium 4% | Iron 6% |
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.
ReplyDeleteAnd 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 ;)