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Many people have the same camp cooking experience at some point in their lives. A large pile of hot dogs, the pack of simple buns, and ketchup + mustard sitting out. Everything had been pulled from the cooler and may be varying degrees of soggy, but it's what you brought and dad is ready to get a move on so you throw some chips on your paper plate and quickly scarf down your food.
There's a lot of happiness associated with those memories, but it never hurts to try and improve the experience so each generation can have it a little bit better than we did.
This recipe comes from that desire, and was brought to us by the chef and owner at Santa Monica's Cool Jinya Ramen. It's simple, with few ingredients and still only cooking the hotdogs so that it can go from prep to table to mouth quickly. But with an end result that is much more customizable and pleasing to the group.
Food You'll Need
- 1 Package of Hot Dogs (8)
- 1 Package of Buns (8) - note: using a nicer bread will stand out more than using a nicer hot dog, if you're going to upgrade one thing this is what we suggest
- Kewpie Mayo (normal or spicy)
- Pickled Ginger
- Jalapeños (2-3)
- Furikake
- White Onion (1)
- Daikon Radish
- Schichimi
Gear We Used
- Snow Peak 4 Unit IGT
- Snow Peak BBQ Pitts
- Snow Peak Tableware Set Family Dishes
- KōROGI Adjustable Legs XL (set to 830/standing height)
- Thaan Grill
- Thaan Original Thai Style Charcoal
- Camping Moon Charcoal Starter
- Camping Moon Stainless Steel Wood Grip Tongs
How We Cooked It
Hot dog prep is inherently easy, so to start we got to work by placing a box of Thaan Original Thai Style Charcoal into our Camping Moon Charcoal Starter. Since we didn't have a campfire going, we opted to use the Camping Moon Fire Starter Torch on the coals. Let this sit for 10-15 mins while you prepare the toppings.
Set out the small bowls from your Snow Peak Tableware Set, you'll want to use all four to keep the toppings separated. In the first, place a handful of pickled ginger. The second will get a healthy dose of Kewpie Mayo, and if you're using the normal variant we suggest adding a topping of Schichimi.
For the third, peel your Daikon and using a microplane grater shave it in to very small pieces while retaining the moisture. Daikon is very mild, so don't be afraid to grate a heaping amount. Finally, in the fourth bowl add a nice dose of Furikake seasoning.
By now, your charcoal should be partially ashed over and ready to get started. take it from the charcoal starter and dump it in to the grill. Our Thaan Grill is the XL, and uses quite a bit of charcoal, but prepare yours accordingly. If using a Thai-style charcoal like we are, spread them out evenly and in-line. This will heat more evenly and create a better cook.
Place the Jalapeños on the grill to start as they're a bit more forgiving to temp, and you want them to be roasted. As they blister, you'll know the grill is ready for the hot dogs and the peppers can be pulled off and sliced thinly on the diagonal.
Cook hot dogs to your desired done-ness, simply warming them or getting them to have some char. As these are done, start to slice and warm the buns. We like to crisp them up just ever so slightly on the topside instead of open-face. By doing it this way you keep more moisture in the bread while also giving a more visually interesting finished hot dog.
Now it's time to prepare. In this style, no sauces go inside the bun and under the hot dog as some American dogs will. Instead, start piling it on top. We opted for a smorgasbord with a bit of everything, but there's no wrong answer here. Simply add what you want and enjoy it.
Why We Like It
Hot Dogs are a camping classic. They're easy to do, even when elevated like this, and because of the toppings variety everyone will be able to customize theirs just how they want. This method doesn't take much more work, but the payoff is worth it.
Recipe
- Prep the charcoal: Heat with a charcoal starter, open flame, or some combination until ashed over.
- Prep the toppings: Add Kewpie Mayo to a bowl with Schichimi, add Furikake to a bowl, add Pickled Ginger to a bowl. Peel & grate Daikon radish.
- Cook the Jalapeños: Place on the freshly ashed charcoal in your BBQ and rotate evenly until blistered. Let cool and slice.
- Grill the Hot Dogs: Just as any other dog, grill until done as desired.
- Warm the Buns: Slive and grill the topside of the bun for color, texture, and moisture retention
- Top & Serve: Add whatever toppings you'd like, there's no wrong answer here.
