Eternia.com

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose — and a coat of mustard and grilled onions.That’s the gist of a menu special being offered through December at fRedhots and Fries, a hot dog stand in Glenview — a reindeer hot dog dressed the way Alaskans like it, in a poppyseed bun the way Chicagoans like it.

FRedhots owner Fred Markoff, 49, first tasted a reindeer hot dog in 2003 while skiing in Anchorage and decided he should serve it at his stand, which opened in October. Markoff also sells a smoked alligator and pork sausage and a buffalo bratwurst with pomegranate-infused sauerkraut. He is awaiting a shipment of caribou sausage patties, for a possible hoagie special.

“When you think about it, meat is meat, and it gets its flavor from its seasoning,” he said.

Other Meats IncludedThe reindeer dog, which costs $8, is made by Indian Valley Meats of Indian, Alaska.

It’s actually a blend of reindeer meat, beef and pork. Because reindeer meat is so lean, it needs fat to add flavor. An all-reindeer hot dog would just taste like “rubber,” said Cathy Drum, whose family owns Indian Valley Meats.

The company had to reduce the amount of reindeer meat in its sausages a few years ago “because people were calling, complaining they were too rubbery,” she said.

Barry Soskin, 49, a fRedhots customer who sampled a reindeer dog Friday, found the texture “tougher” than a regular red-hot but liked the flavor.

“Is it worth $8? . . . Well, I paid 10 bucks for a hamburger once that I didn’t think was worth 10 bucks,” said Soskin, who ate the $9 alligator sausage on a previous trip to fRedhots.

Source: Chicago Sun Times

Send this article to:

Hide Sites

Filed under: Food