Hot food: Hotdogs

What is it?

To pimp: to excessively customise. Ergo, a pimped hot dog is not your average sausage in a bun. This is a "hot" dog, customised with anything from miso and kim-chi to curry and fries, and found everywhere from New York's cult Japadog to London's Bubbledogs. Even Donna Hay has been known to pimp the odd dog, with smoky bacon and a bourbon barbecue sauce.

Where is it?

In Sydney's Surry Hills, the Soda Factory does a roaring trade in $10 pimped dogs most nights, but on Tuesdays, when the bar has a reduced-size $1 special, it goes ballistic. "We easily sell a thousand on a Tuesday," says events manager Samantha Wood. "People love our Johnny Drama, a bacon-wrapped and fried dog topped with guacamole and salsa."

Tom Gibson founded Woofys Gourmet Food Cart Co by buying three hotdog carts on alibaba.com for $5000. "We use grass-fed angus-beef sausages from Argyle Meats in soft, buttery buns," he says, fresh from serving 900 hotdogs at a festival in Wynyard Park. Woofys Nacho Dog is served with guacamole, sour cream, chilli sauce, grated cheese and crushed corn chips. "It's nachos, in dog form," he says. "It's like stoner food in a bun."

At Massive Wieners in Prahran, Liam Magee does three sizes of dog at his cheeky "hotdog stand" – the 12" Massive, the 6" Average Joe, and the 3" Little Pecker. The one thing he won't do, however, is pimp. "In America they'll serve hotdogs with peanut butter, and in Germany they do currywurst," he says, "but my best seller is the Average Joe Classic, a real pork frankfurt with ketchup and mustard."

Why do I care?

Let's be frank. If you just want a hotdog in your roll, then you won't care.

Can I do it at home?

Yessirree. Just make sure you have squeezy bottles of mustard, mayo and chilli sauce to hand for a little extra pimping.

Sourcing

VIC
Massive Wieners 226 Chapel Street, Prahran 0400 124 303

NSW
Woofys Gourmet Food Cart Cowoofemdown.com.au;
The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills 02 8096 9120

Hot dog with avocado and jalapeno

Your choice of dog, pimped with avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeno chilli, mayo and mustard.

4 frankfurters, chorizo or bratwurst

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 tbsp finely diced red onion

1 tbsp jalapeno chillies

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1 tsp ground cumin

sea salt

pepper

1 tbsp lime juice

4 hotdog buns, warmed

1 tbsp mayo for the rolls

4 baby cos lettuce leaves

1. Brush the dogs with 1 tbsp of the oil and grill or pan-fry until completely heated through.

2. Combine the diced avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeno chillies, coriander, cumin, sea salt and pepper. Add lime juice and remaining olive oil and toss well.

3. Split each warmed bun from the top, not the side. Brush the inside with mayo and line with lettuce. Place the dog on top, and spoon the salsa on top.

4. Squeeze-stripe with your choice of American mustard, Japanese mayonnaise and/or Sriracha chilli sauce and serve.

Makes 4