For lots of us there’s nothing like biting into a hot dog served on a pillowy bun and topped with relish, mustard, ketchup, or sauerkraut. The adventurous among us may even go in for red onions, jalapeños, or peperoncini. But, with vegetarian meat substitutes on the rise in popularity there are now a lot of other stand-ins for this American classic that don’t rely on meat. One food writer claims to have found the magic recipe for turning carrots into “hot dogs” using a 3-step cooking process. But, do the results taste like the real thing?
Sarah Bond of Live Eat Learn first peels then marinates the root veggies in a mixture of soy sauce, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and vegetable stock. After letting that sit for 30 minutes she boils the carrots in the remaining marinade.
After that she uses a grill to make sure the outside gets caramelized and to put those lovely marks on the carrots. The last step is to dress them how you normally would, to make it feel even more like the real thing. Reviewers of the recipe on her site said this was crucial a step since it tricks the eye into believing that a hot dog is on the plate instead of a carrot.
Do you think a carrot could ever taste like a hot dog? Those same reviewers also said that indeed, this hack really does work. Many said that even their spouses were impressed with how much like a hot dog these carrots taste.
Carrots tend to be crispy and sweet, but get even sweeter when they are cooked. However, liquid smoke is a powerful tool in cooking. This seasoning sauce can lend a smokey, meaty, grilled, umami taste to ingredients that don’t usually carry that flavor profile. So it makes sense that liquid smoke might be what’s tipping the scales to make these carrots taste like real beef franks.
You can get the written recipe here or watch how it’s done in the video below.