Hot Dougs Experiece

3324 N. California Ave.
Chicago IL, 60618
Fri.-Sat.  10:30-4pm
Fri/Sat Only:  Duck Fat Fries
Cash Only


This trip was my second time coming here to Hot Dougs.  I myself knew what to expect, great artisian sausages. Renee my girlfriend had never been there before, i decided to bring her on a friday.  Fridays are special, they deep fry there fries in duck fat on fridays and saturdays.  We left around 10:15am, it seems early but we were expecting a line.
Its a short drive from the suburbs to the far north side of Chicago.  When we arrive, the line is not yet out the door, this was good.  We were able to get into the first door, one more door to go to enter the small restaurant.  I say it maybe sat forty guests when full.  Enter that last door you are meant with a smell of  chard sausages and dogs, and duck fat.

Theres a decent size menu to choose from, all of them have special names, usually famous peoples names, the sausage or dog and toppings represents that individual.  Kinda cool isnt it.  Next to that is a small board that holds the daily specials.  Next to all that is a cool sign that tells you that they are serving duck fat fries, my stomach growls just writing about all of this food now.

To keep the line moving, it is imperative to know what you want when it is your turn to order, most of the time the gentleman that takes your order is the owner, Doug.  Hes a great guy, with a great attitude and loves to create gourmet hotdogs for people to enjoy.
Renee and I ordered the Fois Dog:  A duck sausage topped with truffle aioli, fois gras, and sea salt, Antelope Sausage with sweet bbq sauce, and chunks of smoked gouda and two orders of duck fat fries.  For some it is hard to swallow nine dollars for a sausage topped with fois gras, none the less even purchase one.  I must tell you, you must try this, the best one i have tasted there yet, the flavor profile is off the chart, the textures from crisp to creamy.  You have to try it.  The antelope sausage was just as good, the flavors of sweet and smoky were a great combonation withthe antelope sausage, although antelope has a tendency to be dry due to it being a lean meat the ratio of fat to meat in the sausage was just right.  Lastly the duck fat fries, what can i say here, just add a little salt and devour, the fries are crisp yet have just enough soggy duck fat flavor that makes anyones mouth drowl, even if its just for a second.
The wait in line was maybe fifteen minutes, but we did arrive early, the wait after ordering was about five to eight minutes.  When getting up to leave you could already see that the line was out the door and around the corner of the block, so i must say for this food adventure we came just in time and will be returning soon.

Herbs & Salt

The nights have got longer and colder. The vegetable gardens begin to look like graveyards.  You are dreading the cleanup, revealing a naked patch of what was once your source of fresh fruits and vegetables the entire summer. In the far corner all that remains are your herbs.  Herbs well, most of them are hardy and are not harmed with frost threatening.  Basil, parsley, and the others that are delicate need to be brought inside to further there life through winter. Rosemary as well, all though classified in the evergreen family, it will not survive and come back the following year. As the years pass your herbs grow, meaning your patches of herbs ger larger. If you are found with a abundance of herbs and its nearing winter, cut them and bring them inside to dry.  I have a abundance of sage, rosemary and thyme that i have cut, with so much more out there to use. 
The first few days, i just lay them out in my apartment to get a nice aroma in the air.  When they have served there purpose there, i put them on sheet tray and place in my oven with just the pilot on.  I have found that fresh thyme takes two days to fully dry, sage takes three days and rosemary up to five days. ( This is with my oven so please note this will not be the same for your oven.)
Once the thyme and rosemary are fully dried i remove them from the stems, this usually is easy since the herbs are dry they just fall off. I then let the herbs dry more overnight.  The next day i place the herbs, separately in a pestle and mortar to grind up a little, this is done to make the spice more plausible in its uses later. 
The sage is a little different it is a leaf, the leafs take longer to dry, once they become brittle you crumble them by hand first, lay out and let dry overnight.  Using a pestle and mortar grind the sage up, you will see it does not grind like the thyme or rosemary, yet it is a rub.
This is were the salt comes onto play.  Take some old mason jars, or any recycled glass jar that has been cleaned, sanitized and dried properly.  Mix together kosher salt (artisan salts may be used as well)  with the fresh herbs, making you own mix of salt and herbs.  The key here is to make sure your herbs are dry, even mixed with the salt the herbs can get moldy.  This takes alot of work, well waiting really to dry the herbs, but the benefits of using this mix are endless......steaks, potatoes, dressings, salads, marinades, rubs, etc.  For best results make small batches to keep your mix as fresh as possible.  Also remember to keep the excess dry herbs in separate air light jars until needed, dried herbs can be used in many applications, this is just something i thought of doing one day.