Hotdogs are Copenhagen’s street food. It was the first and the only one for many years. We have a nickname for a hotdog stand: “Restaurant Cold Feet”.
Growing up in the 1970s, having a hotdog was a treat. The sheer excitement of choosing between ketchup, mustard, rémoulade, or all together. Then the choice between raw or fried onions? And did you want it with or without pickled sliced cucumber? I always had fried onions, and the cucumbers were the absolute best for me. They made the hotdog perfect.
I remember mostly having homemade hotdogs at special occasions, and often at birthday parties. We would buy thin sausages at the butcher and bake the buns ourselves. It was good for parties and perfect with beer, and also great for dinner. When I made them for my kids, I would always serve them with a red cabbage salad. It is still a combination that works for me.
You can find hotdogs all over Copenhagen. There is even a stall in the arrivals section at the airport, to greet homesick Copenhageners.
Makes 10
For the rolls: yeast 25g, fresh salted butter 50g whole milk 300ml, lukewarm strong white flour 500g, plus more to dust sugar 1 tbsp fine sea salt 1 tsp egg 1, lightly beaten
For the cucumber salad: apple cider vinegar 250ml water 3½ tbsp caster sugar 125g sea salt a pinch cucumbers 2
For the hotdogs: sausages 10, good-quality butcher’s onions 100g, fried (see below) onions 4 tbsp, raw chopped tomato ketchup sweet Scandinavian mustard rémoulade (see below)
For the fried onions: Makes about 500g onions 750g, finely sliced plain flour 50g sea salt 1 tbsp, plus more to finish vegetable oil 500ml to 1 litre, flavourless, for deep frying
For the rémoulade: carrot 1, finely sliced celeriac 120g, peeled and finely chopped sea salt cucumber ½, deseeded and cut into tiny dice mayonnaise 50ml red onion ½ tsp, finely grated medium curry powder 1 tsp English mustard powder ½ tsp lemon juice 1 tsp capers 2 tbsp, drained, rinsed and chopped
For the fried onions, place the sliced onions in a bowl with the flour and salt and mix very well until the onions are coated. Pour them into a sieve and shake, to get rid of any excess flour. Half-fill a deep frying pan with the vegetable oil and set over a medium heat. Make sure the oil is hot by placing a slice of onion in it: if it sizzles, it is ready. Reduce the heat a little and a third of the sliced onions. Careful, it may spit! Don’t leave the pan; instead, stir occasionally with a slotted spoon. Fry until light brown and crispy. Using the slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little more salt. Repeat the process with the remaining 2 batches of onions.
For the rémoulade, boil the carrot and celeriac in lightly salted water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and leave to cool, then mix with the cucumber in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, onion, curry and mustard powders, lemon juice and capers, then mix this into the carrot and celeriac mixture.
For the rolls, crumble the yeast into the milk and stir to dissolve. Melt the butter and stir it into the milk. Now mix in the flour, sugar and salt, then knead well on a floured surface. Put the dough into a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave it to rise at room temperature for 1–2 hours, or until doubled in size. After it has risen, form it into 10 fat oval buns and place on 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment. Cover with tea towels and leave to rise for a further 20 minutes.
For more read The Guardian
