bolognese hot dogs

Having my picture taken with the RockerDogz hot dog truck guy in San Antonio might be one of the dorkiest things I’ve done in my life. I did walk over two miles (in ballet flats – ouch!) to his truck, which already pretty well establishes that I’m an oddball. But when I was looking into where we should eat on our weekend in San Antonio last fall, this hot dog cart got more positive – raving really – reviews than any real restaurant. I was determined to eat there.

Once I had, I was then determined to steal all of his ideas to copy at home. Probably the best of the hot dogs we had from there were the Thai Kick Boxers, with a cabbage slaw, pickled Serrano peppers, cucumbers, and artfully applied sriracha. The dog topped with carne guisada was a delicious mess, and I was expecting the same from the Bolognese-topped sandwich, but not a drip was dropped.

And that one, at least, was easy to mimic at home. At least it would be if you had leftover Bolognese sauce lying around. I didn’t, but I did have pot roast pappardelle, so I finely shredded some beef into the sauce and then simmered the mixture until it was thick (and resembled something regurgitated, but let’s bypass that aspect of it).

The pot roast sauce was, as I said before, a little lighter in flavor than a red wine-braised roast or regular Bolognese would be, and the sweet all-beef sausage almost overpowered it. It was still really good though, and not nearly as messy as you might think; just like in San Antonio, we managed to eat our sandwiches without napkins or drips, so using a thick Bolognese (or whatever meaty Italian sauce you happen to have around) really makes a difference. It was just as delicious as the one we had in San Antonio, but this time, acquiring a tasty and creative hot dog didn’t give me any blisters.

One year ago: Lentil Salad with Squash and Goat Cheese
Two years ago: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Three years ago: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars
Four years ago: Caramel-Topped Flan
Five years ago: Country Crust Bread

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Bolognese Hot Dogs

Makes 8 sandwiches

8 all-beef hot dogs
8 hot dog buns, split
4 cups Bolognese sauce, warm
½ cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Grill the hot dogs until they are browned and heated through, about 5 minutes. Toast the buns on both sides. Transfer the buns and hot dogs to plates. Fill each bun with a hot dog, then divide the bolognese sauce evenly between the sandwiches.  Top with parmesan and parsley; serve immediately.