What do you do with "Hot Dog Water"?

[ipsedixit]

You know, the water that you use to boil hot dogs (assuming you boil them)?

Seems like such a waste to just dump it.

I'm thinking Hot Dog Water might be good for making oatmeal, grits, or even cooking things like pasta and rice maybe?

What about using it as part of a brine solution? I'd imagine you could let it cool, add some more salt and aromatics of your choosing, and use it to brine pork chops or loin. It's a natural match, right? Pork on pork!

Along the same lines, could you use it as poaching liquid? Poached eggs in Hot Dog Water?

Your thoughts?

Do you use Hot Dog Water?

Or is that too (how do you say?) gauche for you?

[Antilope]

Hot Dog Water perfume. Here's a spoof ad for it on Funny Or Die:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8e0f...

[hetook]

hot-dog gravy?

[PHREDDY]

This is real good...I would love to know who if any Chders have tried any of the foregoing, or maybe we could establish a standard to consuming cooking liquids...We all eat bacon or chicken fat...so lets see if we could bring about a real healthy side to this...how about poaching liquids?

For meats, fish, fruits or veggies,,,,

For myself.....hot dog water, should stay in the pot, not be moved to the digestive track! (besides, we all know what happens when we eat asparagus, not sure if I want to be in a public bathroom and someone says to me ....do you smell hot dogs?)

[Beach Chick]

This is by far one of the funniest titles ever...just the thought is a riot..
I bust gut every time I see this..

[bfines]

Oh. I actually have a story. One spring a few years back, I decided to hike up a mountain (Mount Rag in VA). It was early spring and the weather started out quite nice. However, it started to rain, and I went for shelter in a cabin. It was progressively getting colder, and I was determined to get to the top, so I kept going. I eventually got hungry, and cooked some hot dogs. However, I was so cold ( I was shaking and completely soaked for hours in 50-something degree weather), that a stranger gave me a thermal blanket, and that I poured the hot dog water into a plastic bottle to keep myself warm.

[mike9]

I don't think the foot print it would take up in the fridge is worth it. When I do dogs in a skillet I start them in a 1/4" of water. When that cooks away the film of grease left is enough to brown the dogs nicely.

[hetook]

this most precious culinary ingredient. One should attempt extreme frugality.... At least try to reverse osmose your h-dog water ,right?

Even left alone imagine how hydrating hot dog water is , loaded with electrolyes...could be used right now at the London Olympics>

[Bacardi1]

As much as I love good authentic "dirty water hot dogs", & do enjoy the dogs I cook at home "simmered" in water, I can't remotely imagine saving the water for anything. Heck, I wouldn't even give it to my dogs.

[thistle5]

I yell at my son to dump it, & wash out the pot-he had the nerve to complain, when he asked for hot dogs & potato rolls the other day, that I bought all beef hot dogs. I explained that that was the only hot dogs I ever bought, & he said they tasted 'funny'....

[Philly Ray]

I don't know if this is a chef thing, a Philadelphia thing, or something exclusive to this bar, but Anthony Bourdain was shooting an episode of The Layover in Philly and reports had him out at a bar with some Philly chefs and they played rock, paper, scissors. The loser had to do a shot of water from a communal hot dog crockpot.

[ipsedixit]

Shudder.

[Antilope]

Much rarer than hot dog water is vienna sausage water. Those little cans don't hold much, so carefully pour into a shot glass and enjoy.

[Veggo]

With vienna sausage water I usually make a reduction for jello shots with Zubrowka buffalo grass vodka.

[Moimoi]

Eeeuuuuww! I enjoy the occasional hot dog, but there are too many wonderful natural ingredients out there to start fussing with a highly processed, carcinogenic (nitrite additives in hotdogs form carcinogens) food "product's" bath water... A hot dog is bad enough. Save yourself, and dump this heavy water down the sink! Well, it's been over a year - I'm sure you already have :)

[Fowler]

Moimoi,

I find it confusing that you would bash hotdogs but your profile indicates your drink of choice is Chrystal Light. Do you know what is in Chrystal Light?

[Moimoi]

You're right... I just changed that, thanks... Don't want to be misleading people. I went through a very brief Crystal Light phase whilst trying to find a low cal flavour additive to motivate me to drink more water but agonized over the artificial sweetener so I stopped and continue to search...

[noodlepoodle]

This is by far one of the funniest threads with all kinds of helpful "suggestions", and it doesn't end. Who knew that hot dog water could have so many possible applications? I give mine to the cat to keep her coat shiny.

[shallots]

To celebrate the first anniversary of this thread, I'll share my most excellent use for used Hot Dog Water.

From my days in an apartment in Houston, when the guys upstairs were porcine, Used Hot Dog Water was a roach magnet, and it wasn't unusual to find thirty swimming cockroaches dog paddleing in a quart pot the next evening.

Far greener than using poisons.

[eclecticsynergy]

Give it to the singing cat on YouTube. "Oh my dog! Oh Don Piano..."

Primus fans could even use it to make Pork Soda...

[Antilope]

Wait a minute! I think we have a new Jones Soda Flavor. Hot Dog Water. They could sell it in a six pack with Lima Bean water, Vienna Sausage juice, Tuna water, Hard Boiled Egg water and Sourdough hooch.

[mamachef]

Agggggh. I got up an hour ago with a jumpy tummy and it was starting to feel better and now it doesn't feel better again. Thank you!! :)

[Antilope]

Use the Hot Dog Water in a vaporizer and your sick room will smell like a Hot Dog Cart. ;-)

[hetook]

I dehydrate my hotdog water to make home made bouillon.

[DPGood]

mmmmmm. Hot Dog Boullion. Yes!

[hetook]

ok,ok.. now I feel guilty.I don't always make it everytime I hve 'dog's'...but, when i do..I like to give it as gifts around the holidays. nice huh?

[DPGood]

What a great idea! Think I'll do that with my recipe for hot dog risotto.

[Antilope]

The worlds 2nd shortest book:

"Things to do with left over hot dog water."

The worlds shortest book is of course:

"Things to do with left over rice water."

[RGC1982]

My brother used to work at a hot dog cart at a zoo. At the end of the day, the water was greenish brown. These were all beef, Kosher hot dogs, one of the big brand names, and that meant that they did not have a lot of artificial anything. Are you crazy? Through the stuff out. Nitrites, salt, food coloring -- this is NOT the same thing as bacon grease. It is worthless. My poor brother couldn't eat a hot dog for a decade afterward because the water grossed him out.

[EWSflash]

I wish I'd read this thread before I answered in a serious tone.

[Moimoi]

Me too! :) I can't beat some of the wittier responses though.

[EWSflash]

I chill it, spoon the fat off, throw the fat away, and pour the defatted water down the drain. I love hot dogs, but don't view the water as being anything precious like, say, bacon fat is. Although I might now.

[Antilope]

If you collect enough hot dog water and dry it you can make hot dog bouillon cubes. Of course the hot dog bouillon cubes would be a poor substitute for the real thing. ;-)

[EWSflash]

8^)

[shallots]

When I lived in Houston in a well known (at that time) garden apartment complex, roaches of all sizes and shapes and aerial abilities were ever present. They couldn't spray often enough to keep the population down.
Most excellent use for hot dog boiling water: nature's best roach trap. I don't know if they drowned or were poisoned, but it worked.

[Antilope]

With all the additives and preservatives I'll bet their little bodies were well preserved. ;-)
Here is the last trail one of them left ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;X

[catbert]

i dump mine. not sure this counts, but i remember the head of the toy dept at otis said when he was a student he used the hot dog water to make soup. in the case of starving student that'd likely be instant ramen me thinks...

personally, i've had hot dogs with a side of ramen so combined probably wouldn't be bad...

[joonjoon]

That's genius actually...hot dog water ramen. I'd love me a bowl of that right now.

[ipsedixit]

That's what I call a " Sodium MSG grenade".

[joonjoon]

ROFL.

[AAQjr]

Ice it down and re use it for the next batch of dogs! Eventually you will have a reached 'hotdog equilibrium' where your broth and dog taste the same.

Then you are ready to make your Hotdog Consomme Princess ;-)

[ipsedixit]

... or maybe Hot Dog Gelee?

[AAQjr]

That is one Haut Dog ;)

[dump123456789]

Looks like someone took your idea, ran with it, and created an entire Chow video on it, except using Doritos instead of hot dogs. Now that there's a precedent, you should do a video for your Hot Dog Consomme.

[Jay F]

throw it out

[Fowler]

Maybe it could be used as "au jus" for a grilled cheese sandwich? ;-)

[Antilope]

Hot dog water microwave risotto with crumbled potato chips on top?

Hot dog water to make instant mashed potatoes. Cover chopped hot dogs with instant mashed potatoes to make hot dog shepherds pie.

Or, maybe you could have it blessed, making it Holy Hot Dog Water, and then sell it on Ebay.

[slcook]

I'm bookmarking this to read aloud at our next family gathering.

[Antilope]

Save up ketchup packets from restaurants and add to hot dog water to make tomato soup. Also save up some saltine packets from restaurants to garnish the tomato soup.

[lilgi]

I really think....I'm going to be ill.

[Antilope]

Take one tablespoon of hot dog water and call the doctor in the morning. ;-)

[sunshine842]

Very un-politically-correctly referred to as Bum's Special.

[The Professor]

Frugality has its limits...Dump it.

I usually don't boil my tubesteaks (I steam them in beer... American light lager beer...the only thing that its good for) still...I couldn't imagine using the remnant liquid for anything palatable.
Dump it!

[ipsedixit]

Well, I can report that using hot dog water for oatmeal makes for a gnarly bowl of oatmeal.

Not recommended.

I think I might use the rest to kill weeds.

[Veggo]

Additionally, the combination of salts and enzymes makes for an alternative to the standard red rubber plunger at those moments of need. Allow about 30 minutes of hammock time for the chemistry to happen, then all clear.

[ipsedixit]

I would counsel against such a usage.

It might corrode the pipes.

Then what? In those urgent moments of need, you'd have fertilized your entire bathroom.

[inaplasticcup]

LOL. You took one for the team in the name of conservation and saved the rest of us a gnarly bowl of hotdog remnant flavored oatmeal. Thank you, ipsedixit. :)

[Veggo]

And if hot dog water and oatmeal would have been the solution for the austere times to come?
Please pass the hemlock.

[inaplasticcup]

Surely hotdog tinged oatmeal can't be so vile to your imagination that you'd rather off yourself... :P

[Veggo]

I'll ponder this one for 30 years and report back.

[paulj]

Reminds me of Goetta, Cincinnati's version of scraple. I made some using cut oats, pork stock, and assort port shoulder scraps. The fried slices were ok, but I don't plan of trying it again.

[ipsedixit]

My god, fellow 'Hound.

You hit the nail on the head.

The entire day I was trying to figure out what that weird taste was in the oatmeal.

And, now, you've hit the nail on the proverbial head.

It tasted like cheap scrapple ... like scrapple made with fillers.

[pine time]

As one born in the Queen City, I must protest. Goetta is an acquired taste, but when properly fried in god-awful grease, it just slides down in the most delightful way. Ok, I'll turn in my CH card now.

[mamachef]

Then I guess I'll have to turn in my membership card too: I LOVE Goetta.

[The Professor]

Goetta is really good stuff, but you have to get a good goetta (say that 3x fast).

It shouldn't be made with scraps and that could be where paulj went wrong with his goetta experience.

And ipsedixit...that weird taste in the goetta you had was probably partially from the seasoning: the most popular commercial version of goetta sold in the Cincy/Northern Ky region has, in addition to the usual sage and savory, an abundance of MSG. Now, there's nothing wrong with that ingredient per se when it's used properly, but the goetta I've had when I've been there seemed to be loaded with it...hence, the cloying aftertaste.

[joonjoon]

Any time I have cured-meat water left (hot dog water, corned beef water, ham stock, etc), I love to make budae jjigae. It's a US Army ration-powered Korean stew that's already heavy on the cured meats, so it makes a perfect base broth for it.

Something like this: http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/...

[AAQjr]

wow, that looks good!

[joonjoon]

It's one of those weird dishes that are made with pretty low-end ingredients but comes out super tasty...I like to finish mine with a slice or two of american cheese melted in to the broth. Yum.

[inaplasticcup]

Sounds like the way my dad used to make jjigae... He loves butter in his kimchi jjigae.

[joonjoon]

Oh man butter in kimchi jjigae sounds like an awesome addition! How have I not thought of this before. :D

[AAQjr]

ROLMAO! monter au beurre .. that sounds sooo wrong

[inaplasticcup]

LOL. I know. it sounds so wrong, but in a very odd way, it tastes so RIGHT.

Especially if you let that kimchi cook to a nice, soft near mush. Slap that crap on some steamed rice... HEAVENNNN...

[AAQjr]

hahah! I'd love to see Roy Choi put a version on the menu at Chego!

[inaplasticcup]

Well if he's reading this, I hope he gives props to my pops on the menu. :P (Wonder if we're distant cousins... ^-)

[ZenKimchi]

Hooni Kim does it at Danji in NYC--serves Budae Jjigae (DMZ Meat Stew), and I hear he butters his kimchi jjigae.
http://www.danjinyc.com/menu.html

[jjjrfoodie]

I've been accused of being overly frugal during my time in the kitchen, but for me that water is a one time use process. Down the drain it goes. Too much residual salt, and, now that I think of it, I am beginning to grasp why they call them "dirty water dogs". I may have to resolve myself to finding a more visually appealing cooking process. And understand what makes that water so "dirty" and cloudy,

&^%$. My dog days are now ruined. :(

LOL.

[Rmis32]

Bottle it & sell it as dog perfume?

[lilgi]

You've got to understand, I have the utmost respect for anyone that will admit publicly to loving pop tarts (I love devil dogs, I understand), but....I'm really having a problem with this one :)

[joonjoon]

Pop tarts and toaster strudels. Devil Dogs and Yodels. All yum.

[wattacetti]

Savory shaved ice.

[buttertart]

My eyes are watering, between this and the vodka suggestion I can't decide which is the more appalling. Even if humorously intended.

[sunshine842]

You can join me in the hopping-up-and-down, waving your arms and shouting ICKY ICKY ICK! dance if you'd like, buttertart.

That is truly one of the most nauseating things I've ever read.

[buttertart]

I am there, completely. Nasty indeed.

[buttertart]

Throw it the hell out. It has such a nasty, sickly smell I doubt it would do anything to anything except make whatever it was worse.

[c oliver]

I didn't even know people still cooked them that way :)

[buttertart]

It's been forever since I've even had a hot dog in the house (I eat them occasionally elsewhere).

[c oliver]

Veggo turned me on to Oscar Meyer Angus bun length dogs. They have a great snap and taste good. They come in two, four packs so I freeze and we have them with chili occasionally. But they're either cooked on the grill or in a skillet.

[buttertart]

I'll keep an eye out for them, thanks.

[joonjoon]

I prefer my hot dogs boiled! Well, boiled then grilled, but if I had to have it one way it would definitely be boiled. Dirty water dogs are the bestest!

[redfish62]

Use it as a mixer with vodka ... vodka goes well with pretty much anything.

[EWSflash]

I myself use tequila, which lends a quasi-Sonoran hot dog attitude to the beverage.

[Kajikit]

I think I'll pass... the main reason I boil my hotdogs is to try to get some of the salt OUT of them so I don't have to eat it. I love the flavour of hotdogs but they put twice as much salt and preservatives in them as they actually need.

[mamachef]

You could parboil the hot dogs and then use the liquid for split pea soup and add sliced hot dogs at the last.

[mamachef]

And you could use it to thin canned chili. :)

[inaplasticcup]

That's a great idea, mc. The flavors would totally work.

[Iconoclastic]

I was going to say the same thing about split pea soup, but I looked to see if anyone else had already said it and here it is! I developed an even better trick for split pea soup that is very similar, but provides a more complex and subtly richer flavor profile without losing any of the soul of the basic dish... but I'm not telling! Okay, maybe...

[DPGood]

Pleeeez...

[Iconoclastic]

Can't tell if that was sarcasm or not through the haze...

[ninrn]

Maybe you could freeze it and put hot dog ice cubes in Bloody Marys (an extra fifteen points if the Bloody Mary is made with ketchup).

[sunshine842]

We don't eat hot dogs here, but water from boiling bratwurst goes down the drain - salty and greasy and swimming with the spices I boil them with (and a few mushy onions).

[divadmas]

just like corned beef water i think this would be full of bad nitrates.

[sunshine842]

my corned beef water doesn't have any nitrates - I cure it myself.

[Veggo]

Maybe turbo-charge the farmed tilapia?

[sunshine842]

Bleh. I love me some bacon and pork fat, but the stuff that gets boiled off tends to be far too 'piggy' for my taste.

I can do a hundred other things with farmed tilapia, none of which involve putting them in pig water.

[escondido123]

I assume you brought this up because of the Iron Chef battle that was on the air this week. I found the Iron Chef Hot Dog Battle to be pretty gross....as someone said it may be the first time the chefs had to work with a precooked ingredient. Reworking the dogs is bad enough, why try to do something with the water? I never boil hot dogs but when I fry them I throw the cooking grease out.

[ipsedixit]

No, did not see the ICA Hot Dog episode.

Who was on it?

I just have a big tub of hot dog water after an afternoon of Memorial Day celebration.

[paulj]

It was Flay against another FN Canada (e.g. Cooking Channel) cook - R Moking (Everyday exotic). I rather like his cooking style. The judges were a couple of sports announcers, Donatella, and Mr Bizarre Foods.

[Niblet]

Actually it wasn't Flay but Michael Symon. How could you mistake that distinctive giggle? (which I think is hilarious, btw, so I'm not criticizing)

[luciaannek]

Sorry to be picky but I'm a big ICA nerd. The first pre-made ingredient they ever had to use was pizza dough. I'm not sure if there has been anything in between.

[c oliver]

I guess I've lived in NorCal for too long. I'd accumulate it with other water(s) ahd use it to flush the toilet :

[paulj]

cook lobsters in it. That's that one of the cooks on ICA Battle Hot Dog did this week.

[ipsedixit]

Did the judges like it?

I would think it would overpower the lobster meat's sweetness.

[Veggo]

I'm not sure that one would be a one-size-fits-all surf & turf for serfs and lords...

[DPGood]

If you have some rice and any leftover hot dogs, how about hot dog risotto?

[Veggo]

With shaved Perigord truffles?

[DPGood]

Hats off to OP. I'm a fan.

[ipsedixit]

Hot Dog Risotto ... Batali would be proud.

[Querencia]

There's a song you can google, "Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise", that has a line "And you really must try/ My hot dog pie". A variant of Hot Dog Risotto....

[kubasd]

I've made Bratwurst risotto and used a hefeweisen instead of wine... I was cooking it for someone else, he loved it! Hot dog water might have elevated that dish :P

[srsone]

on the rare occasion when i do boil them...i just dump the water in the sink....

[e_bone]

You piqued my curiosity - in my mind the "brine" would be perhaps too diffuse to be real meaningful.. but if you cooked a LOT of dogs... and then reduced the liquid to concentrate it.. you'd have *something*.. but what? It'd be fat from the dogs in suspension.. and some salt... and a little of the spices in dogs (which I don't know what spices make up a dog)... so I still don't know how flavorful the result would be.. would probably be a little tasteless. But poaching eggs- a good idea you have.. grits... sure.. making pasta for mac-n-cheese? sure... worth playing with I suppose just to rule it out. And if works- you're a genius. You can call it something like court bouillon aux chien chaud.

[ipsedixit]

Cherylptw and e_bone,

I'm going to try some iterations in the next few days and report back.

Tomorrow morning? Oatmeal with Hot Dog Water! And a poached egg (in Hot Dog Water) on top of the oatmeal!

[Cherylptw]

Great idea although I've not used it before but am thinking why not use it to make mashed or boiled potatoes, maybe along with some cabbage in it ? Other ideas include making a gravy with it, adding as the liquid in a soup, simmer corn on the cob in it or other veggie. Poaching eggs in it may not give much flavor unless it's strongly flavored but I've poached eggs in the juice from a cooked ham so why wouldn't it work?