Homemade Beef Hotdogs

Today I decided I really wanted a hot dog. But I didn't want some garbage store bought dog, so I went and found a primal rib cut, and used that to make my very own all beef hot dogs. Is this cut of beef overkill? absolutely! But these dogs are perfect! If you are interested in making your own dogs, look no further, Ill show you from start to finish how to do it! Sound good? Lets get started....

YouTube Instructional: https://youtu.be/3uOTzNdDdbM

Ingredients:
Beef - Chuck roast is the ideal cut, but use any cut of beef you want. Were looking for around 80/20 ratio of meat to fat
Ingredients below are a percentage of total meat weight:
1.75% Salt
.25% Pink curing Salt 1
.2% Paprika
.2% Garlic
.2% White Pepper
.15% Mustard Powder
.15% Onion Powder
Collagen Casings 19mm

Step 1: Trim and cube meat

Trim off anything funky and cut meat into cubes or strips.

You want the cuts to be big enough to fit into your grinder

Weigh your total meat (We will use that amount to calculate our dry ingredient amounts)

Space out your meat and put into your freezer to get ready to grind (you want it parfrozen)

Step 2: Weigh out your dry ingredients

Using a gram calculator is ideal, but carefully weigh out your dry ingredients using the ratios above. Be careful with your pink salt - too much can be dangerous.

Set aside.

Step 3: Grind your meat

I usually use a full size meat grinder, but wanted to test using a food processor, and its fine for small amounts of meat.

Do maybe a half pound at a time, and grind it down to a “kibble” size

Step 4: Mix your seasonings into your ground beef

Add in a little bit of water to your seasoning, and then add it into your ground beef

Thoroughly mix throughout

Step 5: Emulsify Meat

To emulsify your meat you want to keep it around 40 degrees while its processed. I use a bunch of ice in with my meat, about 20% of the weight of the meat in crushed ice.

Move it in batches to your processor, and run until you get a smooth paste

Its not the most appetizing look, but trust me its good!

Step 6: Case the Hotdogs

Move your meat to your caser. I like to put it into the shute and then move it to my fridge for a few hours. They case better cold, and letting it rest is great for the meat.

Once ready, put your casings onto the horn and begin to push the meat into the case. I case each hotdog at a time, and tie off both ends.

Its time consuming, but if you have a crimper it makes the job a lot quicker

Step 7: Smoke the Hotdogs

Let your hotdogs rest an hour or so and then move to your smoker

I smoked at 180 degrees until an internal temp of around 145 to 155

Step 8: Move to an Ice Bath

When they reach your internal temp, move to an ice bath. This will shrink the casings on and stop the cooking process.

Now these are done! You can grill them, boil them, whatever you want!

I usually just leave the casings on, but you can absolutely remove them if you want.

Enjoy!