Rippers And Pierogies, Take II

One night recently I was looking around for food to cook, and I realized I had one hot dog left (a Ballpark Frank) and pierogies. I also realized that the deep fryer was out on the counter and had oil in it, so that made the decision very easy.

In my last attempt at deep frying a hot dog, I put the hot dogs in 350F oil and left them there for a while. They cooked perfectly well, but they didn't become "rippers" as I had hoped. This time, I cranked the temperature up to 375F and dropped in the hot dog while I set to prepare a breadcrumb batter for the pierogies. My last attempt at pierogies was successful without adding any batter, and this time I expected the breadcrumbs to keep the actual shell of the pierogie softer.

Right away, I had high hopes for the hot dog. When I put it in the hotter oil, it kinda went crazy right away and continued dancing around in the oil the whole time it was in there. Early on the ends opened up a little bit, but it still took a while for a real tear to form. Also, this time the hot dog got darker, instead of keeping its reddish color. I knew this was a good sign, since, I had seen a picture here of a "cremator," which looked like what I was seeing. Then finally, I got what I was looking for: a huge rip right down the whole length of the hot dog! I left it in for another minute or so, but then I was satisfied (and hungry!) and ready to see how it was.
The outer shell was very thoroughly cooked. It was really crunchy, almost like a hot dog cooked over a campfire or on a grill for way too long. The inside was very hot, but still juicy, and along the crack it was slightly chewy — definitely a different texture than most hot dogs have — but not actually too different. Overall, very tasty and very easy to cook, but it takes a while, so this method of preparation will probably not replace cooking hot dogs on the stove for me. I'm glad I can say I made a "ripper" though.

The pierogies went very well last time, but I was still looking to improve them. This time I thawed them, and breaded them in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. You can keep them frozen if you are dropping them right in the oil, but you do have to thaw them to make the breadcrumbs stick.

These were very good, as pretty much all pierogies are, but with the breadcrumbs, they felt more like an appetiser than a main course of my meal. I didn't have any marinara sauce, but that would have gone well with these. They tasted much like the ravioli that I breaded and deep fried. However, unlike the ravioli, I think I preferred just dropping these in without breading them.

With the summer winding down now, I should be getting back into a more regular schedule, and I can hopefully deep fry more often. My body has appreciated the break from deep frying, but I am looking to pick up the pace and try more new stuff.

For my next post, I braved bad weather and unsafe deep frying conditions in traveling to Washington DC to cook what might be the most delicious deep fried thing I've had yet. It might even be the most delicious food I've ever had. I don't even want to spoil the surprise yet. You'll just have to wait to see what it was. I know it's been deep fried by others before me, but we added an extra twist that really pushed it over the top.

Also, I am proud to announce that anyone is now welcome to email me deep frying suggestions, questions, or comments at thedeepfryguy@gmail.com. Also, I already get a lot of articles about deep frying forwarded to me, and I think I'll try to set up a part of the blog to share these with all of you.