Frankfurter Twists

Hot dogs wrapped in dough are an antique recipe, at least in baking mix company history. They descend from a long line of stuffed pastries running back into European baking traditions: think four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. In a way, pigs-in-blankets are a kind of analogue to the hot dog itself. This recipe is an interesting variation.

Makes 12 hot dogs

Ingredients

• 2 cups biscuit mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons chili sauce—not Tabasco or the
• like, but a tomato or tomatillo sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 12 hot dogs, 2 ounces each
• 12 skewers
• Melted butter

Preparation

1. Have a grill heated and ready for cooking.
2. Mix biscuit mix and milk until soft dough is formed.
3. Roll out on a floured board to a 9×12 inch rectangle.
4. Mix the chili sauce, mustard, and horseradish.
5. Spread over the dough evenly. Cut dough into 12 long equal strips. Skewer the hot dogs and wrap each with the strip of dough, twisting it into a spiral around the hot dog.
6. Lay hot dogs on the board and brush with melted butter.
7. Place on grill and cook until the dough becomes crispy brown.

Adapted from Katherine Tromans, “Recipes Turn Lowly Hot Dog into Gourmet Frankfurter,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 29, 1957.

Reprinted with permission from “Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America,” Bruce Kraig.