photo by: Courtesy of Mother Earth News

Crispy Hot Dogs with Creole Mustard Sauce

Hot dogs are the first food most of us grilled, and you don’t need a cookbook to show you how. So what special technique could you possibly bring to a food that’s essentially ready to eat when it comes out of the package?

Scoring, that’s what. Cutting a crisscross pattern in the hot dogs dramatically increases the ratio of crisp, smoky crust to center meat.

Crispy Hot Dogs with Creole Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

8 high-quality all-beef hot dogs

8 hot dog rolls

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

Creole Mustard Sauce (below)

Baby arugula or other micro-greens

2 ripe tomatoes or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

Directions:

Using a paring knife, make a series of crosshatch cuts on the surface of each hot dog, about 1⁄8 inch deep and 1⁄4 inch apart, on all sides. This will expose more of the hot dog to the grill’s direct heat. Slather the insides of the rolls with mayonnaise.

Set up your grill for direct grilling, and heat to high. Oil the grill grate with vegetable oil.

Arrange the hot dogs on the grate. Grill until the exterior is crisp and browned, about 2 minutes per side, 6 to 8 minutes in all. Grill the mayonnaise-slathered rolls until toasted, 1 minute per side.

Slather the rolls with Creole Mustard Sauce. Add the hot dogs, baby arugula, and tomato slices.

Creole Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

3⁄4 cup mayonnaise

1⁄4 cup Creole mustard

1⁄4 cup prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste

3 tablespoons minced celery

3 tablespoons minced green olives

1 tablespoon drained capers

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Any leftover sauce will keep in the refrigerator for several days.