Hot dogs bought from the grocery store or your favourite butcher are nice, but there is nothing better than making your own. Now I am not asking you to get yourself a meat grinder and a sausage stuffer, because that’s a lot of work. And sometimes, we just don’t have the time to do it. These hot dogs are made from boneless, skinless whole chicken breasts and ground chicken. Follow the method and create some pretty amazing and delicious hot dogs.
Let’s Get Smoking!
Besides 6 Chicken breasts, boneless skinless (4 oz. each), 12 oz Ground chicken and 8 oz Boneless skinless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, you’ll need plastic wrap, non-stick cooking spray, 1 Spray bottle, 1 cup Tennessee Whiskey and 2 cups Apple juice.
To season, use 1 Tbsp Fresh herbs (sage, thyme, parsley), chopped, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 3 Tbsp Crispy fried onions, 2 Green onions, chopped, 2 cloves Minced garlic, 1 tsp Fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, sage, thyme).
Add 6 Mozzarella cheese strings, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste, Sprinkle of Ted’s World Famous BBQ Bone Dust™ BBQ Seasoning, 1/2 cup Ted’s World Famous BBQ Crazy Canuck Sticky Chicken and Rib Sauce or your favourite gourmet style BBQ sauce, 1 oz Tennessee Whiskey and 2 Tbsp Apple butter.
Serves 6
Bradley Smoker Temperature: 240°F
- Pour the whiskey and apple juice into a misting bottle and set aside. You will use this to mist the chicken dogs, to keep them moist as they smoke in your smoker.
- Using a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breast by slicing through the middle about 3/4 of the way through. Fold open the butterflied chicken breast and spread it out. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap and using the flat surface of a meat mallet pound the chicken breast into a rectangular shape about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, chopped chicken thigh meat, mustard, crispy fried onions, green onions, garlic and herbs. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Lay a 12 x 12 inch square of plastic wrap onto a flat work surface.
- Lay a chicken breast on top of the plastic wrap, spreading it out so that it is as close to a square or rectangle, as possible.
How to Smoke Them
- Take a 1/4 of the ground chicken mixture and place it along the longest edge make sure it evenly distributed. Place a cheese string on top of the ground chicken mixture.
- Starting at the edge with the ground chicken mixture on the breast, roll up the breast into a sausage looking shape, wrapping tightly with the plastic wrap. Twist the ends tightly to compact the chicken dog. The chicken dog should be about 6 inches long and 1 1/2 – 2 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts and ground chicken.
- Place in refrigerator for 1 hour to rest and chill.
- Season chicken dogs with Bone Dust™ BBQ Seasoning. Place chicken dogs in a row on the middle shelf of the Bradley Smoker.
- Smoke chicken dogs for approximately 2 hours, misting occasionally with whiskey/apple juice mist until fully cooked and the mozzarella cheese center is warm and gooey, internal temperature should read 160°F.
- Meanwhile combine the BBQ sauce with apple butter and whiskey. Brush dogs with whisky apple BBQ sauce mixture.
- Serve immediately on toasted buns with your favourite hot dog condiments.
