By Dennis Stacey – Publisher
If there has ever been a more versatile summertime food than the simple hotdog, I am not aware of it. I would probably go so far as to make the bold assertion that the hotdog is perhaps the perfect summertime food.
Often chided for being a mix of undesirable animal parts and sawdust filler, the hotdog has been the go-to grub for scores of Canadian parents as they look to feed their ravenous kids when school lets out for summer.
Though I am far from being a connoisseur of all things frank or furter, I can easily recall the many ways I enjoyed hotdogs of my bygone summer days.
My hands-down favourite were the ones roasted over an open fire while camping with family and friends. I can almost recall the faint whiffs of smoke billowing from the fire pit as we youngsters stood round in a circle, roasting (and oftentimes burning) our hotdogs.
Taking kids camping was, and still is, a fun and economical way to vacation for families, and our family was no exception.
We didn’t have any fancy roasting forks with sharp steel tines and wooden handles back then. We used sticks cleaned and sharpened to a point with a knife. (A parent was always close-by to ensure the only things getting whittled was the sticks…and not our little fingers.)
Wildlings in all their glory
With stick bark stripped and ends pointed, we lined up to get our wieners from the wiener dispenser (usually a mom, but sometimes a dad) making sure it was securely affixed to our stick before taking our place around the fire to cook our own food.
It was glorious! Little wildlings, we were. Kids of all ages stood side by side round the fire, each cooking their hotdog to their own exact taste preference.
“Remember to turn it!” an adult would shout from the darkness.
“I know!” came the indignant reply. So little they thought of us kids. Like we didn’t know to turn the…
“Mommmm! It’s buuuuuuurnt!”
And so it would go.
The ‘what did I just tell you?’ scold came next, followed by an inevitable ‘this is your last one! If you burn it, you’re eating it anyway or going to bed hungry’ admonishment. Having been that indignant kid myself a time or two, I can honestly say that eating burnt hotdogs still beats going to bed on an empty stomach.
At least one hotdog would usually end up in the fire, likely because it wasn’t affixed as secure as it should have been. More admonishments from parents about food not growing on trees or something. More ‘yeah yeah, I know I know’ from the kid as they raced back to the fire pit to try it all over again.
My perfect hotdog had a bit of crisp to it, but wasn’t blackened or charred. Once it reached ‘done’, I’d head over for a bun.
The buns were store-bought and sold eight to a pack. A package of wieners had 12, which naturally lead to a four bun deficiency. Normally, this would be a problem, but not when camping with kids.
The math problem was always solved
At least two hotdogs ended up burnt or in the fire, leaving a bun deficiency of two. Then there was always a kid or two who wanted seconds. We were told by a parent there wasn’t enough room for another bun in our little bellies, so we’d be given a dog without a bun.
And that was how camping math took care of the dog/bun ratio problem.
After the main course, out came the marshmallows for roasting, or as a cynical adult would typically comment, “Oh, great – more food for the fire!” Sure enough, a few would be charred so bad even the campground crows wouldn’t eat it.
Long gone are the days of me standing around a fire pit with a hotdog stick in my hand. The memories live on, but I’ve not had a ‘fire dog’ in ages.
In my early adult years, hotdog food carts started appearing outside nightclubs in the city. The were wildly popular and after a Saturday night spent dancing and socializing, a hotdog was the ideal late night snack food for many.
Hotdogs have become a favourite fundraiser food too. Outside many city stores in the summer, barbecues can be found churning out hotdogs with all the fixings. For just a few bucks, shoppers can get a tasty treat for cheap, with the funds going to whichever group is doing the serving.
For much of the year, it doesn’t even cross my mind, but the hotdog is inextricably linked to summertime for me.
Now that summer is officially here, perhaps it’s time to find a good stick…
