Haute Dog

Last year we took an amazing family trip. The resort we stayed at had “Haute Dogs” on the menu and it seemed to be a kid-favourite. The hot dog was essentially a basic dog and bun smothered in relish! Is relish haute?! Don’t get me wrong, I love relish and think it is a totally underestimated condiment, but haute? Not sure about that. Regardless, the name stuck.

Fast forward a year. I now have a vegetarian in the house who refuses to eat hot dogs. It’s summer and that means we eat hot dogs more than I should admit (no judgements, please), so I needed to come up with a worthy alternative. The timing was perfect, because it seems that carrot hot dogs are the latest food trend.

These were a hit! Even the meat lovers in the family (my husband) thought they were delicious. These deserve the title of haute dog!

For these carrot dogs, I made a gilled pineapple, fresh corn and mango salsa that paired well with the saltiness from the tamari marinade. For additional garnishes, I added sliced avocado and jalepenos and topped with an extra green onions and cilantro.

Haute Dog

(Carrot Hot Dog)

Yield: 5 Carrots

Ingredients:

5 large carrots, scrubbed and peeled (substantial enough to fit into a hot dog bun)

1/2 cup tamari sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 glove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons mustard powder

2 teaspoons paprika

Pinch of salt and ground black pepper

5 buns

Garnishes:

Sliced avocado

Sliced jalapeño

Sliced green onions

Cilantro

Directions:

1. Boil the carrots for 20 minutes (make sure not to overcook them or they will fall apart)
2. While the carrots are cooking, mix together the marinade: tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, water, maple syrup, garlic, mustard powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.
3. Drain the carrots and then add to the marinade. Marinade the carrots for at least an hour.
4. Prepare the grill and BBQ for 5-10 minutes, rotating until grill marks appear.
5. Add to bun and garnish (see below for Grilled Pineapple, Corn and Mango topping).

Source: I got a lot of inspiration for these carrot dogs from various food blogs and based on other marinades I’ve made in the past. I made the marinade based on flavours I knew I would love, especially the tamari which gave the carrots a deep flavour.

Grilled Pineapple, Grilled Fresh Corn and Mango Salsa

Yields: Enough for 5 Haute Dogs

Ingredients:

1/4 Fresh pineapple, cut in slices (about 4 wedges) and cored

2 corn cobs, husked (soaked in water)

1 medium mango

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Half green onion, white and green parts, thinly sliced

Juice of half a lime

Directions:

1. Grill the pineapple slices and corn cobs until lightly charred, about 5 minutes.
2. Cut pineapple into small pieces and remove kernels from the cob and add to a medium size bowl.
3. Peel and cut mango into small pieces and add to the mixing bowl, along with any juices
4. Add chopped cilantro and green onion.
5. Add lime juice and mix well.