The Adventures of Krystal Kid: DIY Pups, Part 2

Thursday, February 21, 2008

DIY Pups, Part 2

Since yesterday's attempt at Chili Cheese Pups was a total let down, I simply had to try and redeem myself. So here's my second version. We must put Lunchables behind us and move on.
While I was at the store buying the lunchables I happened to see something else in the prepackaged meat case:

Of course I mean the mini hot dogs, not the buns. What confused me was that I hadn't seen or read anything about them on the Oscar Meyer Hot Dog page. In addition to the beef dogs they also have some with cheese in them. Some people have a very strong aversion to hot dogs with cheese inside of them. I don't have a problem with it. If you knew what was REALLY inside of a hot dog, you'd probably be even more upset.
The difference between the lunchables and these new dogs was that the lunchables gave you buns. Dry, cold, hard, tasteless buns, but at least you got some. I had no brilliant ideas so I decided I'd just use regular buns and cut them in half.

The up side to these dogs over the lunchables is that you get a resealable bag packed full of mini dogs. I haven't counted how many are in there, but it's quite a few.
I think my first real mistake was that I kept with the Lunchables method of heating the dogs up. Place dog in bun, then in the microwave. I opted not to waste 4 paper towels this time and just decided they'd have to tough it out in the nuclear storm.
In hindsight, I feel that these will never reach true Chili Pup quality as long as a microwave is involved. The dogs need to be boiled (or steamed?) and the buns need to be steamed, just like the real thing. Then you wont have dry buns. Dry hot dog buns I mean. You may still have dry buns, but that's a medical condition and you should consult your doctor for an ointment or something.

These doggies were a vast improvement over the lunchables variety, but then eating my shoe would be an improvement over the lunchables. But as I said the buns were a bit dry, and the dogs had that unmistakable "just out of the package" flavor. Next time I will take the time to steam the buns and boil the dogs. I expect a big improvement.
A bit more subtle was the bun to dog ratio. Since these were full side hot dog buns I think they may have more bread than is required. Perhaps I need to carve out a small slice from the middle of the bun prior to assembly? I am quite certain I will have to go back to Krystal and inspect some pups very closely soon. I also need to test the mini cheese hot dogs, just to see how they are.
Now that I feel confident in my goal of recreating a chili pup, the final step is a Corn Pup. Of "The Big Four" the corn pup is my least favorite. But it deserves a shot. I have seen they sell frozen mini corn dogs at the store, but they don't have a stick. Obviously I could just shove a stick in them and push forward, but I think I may attempt to actually make real corn dogs from scratch.
Alton Brown has a corn dog recipe but in typical AB fashion his goal is perfect taste, no matter what. By the time I got done prepping the ingredients, I believe my taste for corn pups would have passed. No, there must be an easier way. And I will find it.Like a bloodhound.
(Yes that's my obligatory dog joke.)
Krystal Lovers get more in the sack!.