Eating hot dogs is not something that really fits with my reputation. It is true that I do not generally eat hot dogs. In winter I do however like to make my own gourmet version and that goes like this: I bake my own wholewheat buns, I procure artisan prize-winning smoked pork sausage (rookworst) from the butcher I frequent, and I serve it with sauerkraut and home-made ketchup. Home-made mustard and home-made sauerkraut would also be nice, but those are bridges I haven’t crossed just yet. And who knows, perhaps I’ll even smoke my own pork sausage one day? In any case, my “hot dog” tastes a lot better than one from a street vendor.

There is a big difference between a rookworst from a supermarket and one from a proper butcher. One of the major differences is that the artisan smoked pork sausage actually has been smoked, rather than being treated with chemicals. The home-made buns are especially good because there is nothing better than freshly baked bread. You could get away with using Heinz, but I made my own ketchup a while ago and it keeps well so I still have it and it does have a more interesting flavor. A recipe is perhaps stretching things a bit here, but oh well…

Ingredients

For 4 hot dogs, serves 2 for dinner

1 smoked pork sausage (about 300 grams/.66 lbs)

250 grams (.55 lb) sauerkraut, cooked

4 freshly baked wholewheat buns, for example by using this recipe

ketchup to taste

Preparation

Gently heat up the sausage. This goes well on top of the sauerkraut. Slice open the buns. Cover both sides with a thin layer of sauerkraut. Add ketchup or other condiments to taste. Add sausage.

Serve and enjoy 🙂