Two Ways with Greek Sausage Hot Dogs

Categories : appetizers & savoury snacks, main dishes, meat & poultry, Recipes

Greek beef and turkey village-style sausages make the base for these super loaded hot dogs. The beef one is topped with delicious caramelised onions and a beer cheese sauce, and the turkey one, our lighter option, is smothered in feta cream and Greek salad salsa.

Two Ways with Greek Sausage Hot Dogs www.thefoodiecorner.gr - Photo description: A ¾ view of the plate of hot dogs. The bowls of condiments are arranged around it together with a couple of glasses of beer. Everything is on an old wooden surface set against a dark backdrop.

I know that it’s probably impossible to get tired of hot dogs, even in their most simple version such as sausage, ketchup and mustard, but it’s always good to have some fancier options for when we want to make a bigger d/meal out of it.

These are pretty fancy. The first is a country/village style beef sausage in a baguette, with properly caramelised onions and an amazing beer cheese sauce made with cheddar and San Michali cheese from Syros. San Michali is also known as the Greek Parmesan, but I think that is a little unfair as it definitely has its own unique flavour. San Michali is a hard yellow cheese made from cow’s milk, and it’s exclusive to the island of Syros with a POD status. It’s a little salty with a spicy aftertaste. It might be tricky to find, so you could go with parmesan or try any other cheese you like the taste of. As long as it’s strong flavoured. The sauce also works well with smoked yellow cheese. A few arugula leaves make a good garnish for this hot dog, as the flavours mix well.

Two Ways with Greek Sausage Hot Dogs www.thefoodiecorner.gr - Photo description: A closer view of one of the hot dogs, with rocket, caramelised onions and beer cheese sauce on top.

The other sausage is turkey, which suits its topping beautifully. Thick and creamy, the topping is made by mashing feta with Greek yoghurt and a soft white cheese called Galotyri. Galotyri is made from sheep or goat’s milk, or a combination of both. It is creamy, with a fresh, strong, slightly sour flavour. If you can’t find it you can omit it altogether, or use a little more feta. A sprinkling of Greek salad salsa provides the cool crispness that balances everything out. I’ve used a whole-wheat baguette here since we’re going lighter with this version. Olives I suppose make a good garnish, since they are part and parcel of Greek salad, but since I can’t stand the things, I’ve not actually tried the combo myself. Yes, I’m Greek and I don’t like olives. Are you giving me the shocked look? I’ve had to deal with that one since childhood…

Two Ways with Greek Sausage Hot Dogs www.thefoodiecorner.gr - Photo description: The condiments and beer glasses all arranged around the edges of the photo, with the old wooden surface visible in the middle.

The sausages are cooked in a frying pan on the stove, so there is no need to brush the cobwebs off the barbecue just yet. Yay.

A couple more things before I let you browse the actual recipe (many steps but all easy!). Keep any leftover caramelised onions in the freezer, in ice cube molds for portion control. If you have leftover beer cheese sauce it will have probably thickened quite a bit. Spread it over toast and grill (broil) until bubbly and delicious. You have yourselves a version of a Welsh Rarebit. If you have leftover feta cream try using it as a salad dressing. You might need a little olive oil to thin it out, but it’s actually very tasty. I tried it on a spinach and rocket (arugula) mix.

Two Ways with Greek Sausage Hot Dogs www.thefoodiecorner.gr - Photo description: A top view of the plate of hot dogs, this time with four (2 of each flavour) arranged on the baking paper. The plate is positioned to the bottom right, and the condiments and beers are in the top of the photo. Only the cheese sauce is in the bottom left corner.

So is it barbecue weather where you are yet? We’ve had some weird weather over the past few days, with lots or rain (insert happy face) and lower than normal temperatures. But it seems to be getting back to normal (bah), so I’ll have to console myself with cold beer and hot dogs!

Ingredients

For the beef hot dogs with caramelised onions and beer cheese sauce
For the caramelised onions
20gr butter or margarine
500gr onions, sliced into moon shapes
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbs brown sugar

For the beer cheese sauce
30gr butter or margarine
30gr flour, all purpose
100ml milk
80ml Weiss beer
100gr mild cheddar, grated
60gr San Michali cheese, finely grated (or substitute with other cheese of your liking, see blog post)
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp mustard, mild
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper, freshly cracked

For the sausages
4 beef sausages, country/village style
a little margarine

To serve
wild or baby rocket leaves
4 pieces of baguette, opened down the middle

For the turkey hot dog with feta cream and Greek salsa
For the Greek salsa
250gr tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes) very finely diced
120gr cucumber, very finely diced
1 Tbs onion, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp oregano, dried
1 pinch black pepper, freshly cracked

For the feta cream with galotyri
100gr soft feta
100gr Greek yoghurt
70gr galotyri (or omit, or use more feta depending on consistency)
1 Tbs olive oil
salt to taste

For the sausages
4 turkey sausages, country/village style
a little margarine

To serve
4 pieces of whole wheat baguette, opened down the middle
chopped olives (optional)

Step 1

For the beef hot dog:
Caramelised onions:
In a medium sized frying pan melt the butter or marge over medium heat. Add the onions, stir well to coat and turn the heat right down. The pan will be full but the onions will reduce in volume. Let the onions cook gently stirring now and again, for about 55 minutes or until they are very soft and slightly darker in colour. Turn the heat up to medium, add the balsamic and the sugar and stir for another 5 minutes taking care they don’t burn. Set aside.

Step 2

Beer cheese sauce:
Melt the butter or marge in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon for about a minute or so to make a golden paste. Grab a whisk, add the milk and whisk vigurously to avoid lumps forming. Add the beer and continue whisking. Switch back to the wooden spoon and stir for a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Add the cheeses and other ingredients, stir until melted and take off the heat.

Step 3

Sausages:
Make slits in the sausages in 2 or 3 places. Melt the margarine in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the sausages for about 10-15 minutes. Slice down the middle to make them easier to bite into.

Step 4

To serve:
If you want to, toast the baguettes under the grill (broiler) or in a toaster. If you want to be naughty you can drizzle the juices from the pan onto the inside of the bread. Build your hot dog with rocket leaves, a sausage, onions and beer cheese sauce.

Step 5

For the turkey hot dogs:
Greek salsa:
Place the tomatoes, cucumber and onion in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Let them release their juices for about 15 minutes. Put into a bowl with the vinegar and pepper and toss well.

Step 6

Feta cream:
Mash the feta with a fork in a bowl. Add the yoghurt, the galotyri and the olive oil and continue to mash until the mixture is creamy and almost smooth. Small chunks are totally acceptable.

Step 7

Sausages:
Make some slits in the sausages and fry them in the margarine over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Slice down the middle.

Step 8

To serve:
Toast the baguettes if desired, spread with a good dollop of feta cream, add a sausage and scatter the salsa over the top. Garnish with olives. (yuck) (sorry)

The Greek version of this post is sponsored. All opinions are my own. There is a video over on that side, go check it out! (click on GR at the top of the page)

No ratings yet