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Pennsylvania-Dutch Dogs
6 IDAHO POTATOES 6 FRANKFURTERS I TABLESPOON SALT PAPRIKA I TEASPOON PEPPER BACON DRIPPINGS WATERCRESS Idaho potatoes are used for these Pennsylvania "dogs" because their oblong shape and great length make them most suitable for stuffing with whole frankfurters. Also because from end to end with apple corer. Stuff each round hole from end to end with apple corer. with a sausage. Put on rack of roasting pan, brush with Stuff each round hole bacon drippings, and sprinkle with salt and pepper mixed together. Bake 45 minutes at 360° and baste twice with bacon drippings mixed with hot water. Serve on bed of watercress and sprinkle "dogs" with paprika.
A baked potato with a frankfurter driven through the middle, dressed with bacon fat. The whole trick is the bore: the hole must run the full length of the potato and be wide enough that the sausage slides in without splitting the flesh.
- Coring the potatoPush a long apple corer straight through the potato lengthwise, working from both ends toward the middle if the corer is short. Twist rather than force, and choose potatoes of even thickness so the corer does not wander out through the side.
- Oven temperatureThe recipe calls for 360F; set a modern oven to 350F. Forty-five minutes may not be enough for a large potato, which can want an hour. Test with a skewer through the flesh, not the sausage.
- Idaho potatoesAny long russet baker works. Look for the straightest specimens of roughly equal size, about 8 to 10 ounces each, so they finish together.
- FrankfurtersA standard hot dog may be shorter than a very large baking potato, leaving the ends hollow; if so, trim the potatoes to sausage length or use two half-length pieces per potato. The recipe itself assumes one whole frankfurter runs the length of the potato.
- Bacon drippingsRendered bacon fat, kept from breakfast. Any solid or liquid fat will brown the skins, though the smoky note is the point of the dish. If you have none, cook a few rashers and use what runs out.
- That tablespoon of saltA full tablespoon mixed with a teaspoon of pepper is a seasoning mix for rubbing the outsides, not something to be used up. Apply it to the oiled skins and discard the excess.
- BastingThe recipe bastes twice with bacon drippings mixed with hot water; no proportion is given, so mix to taste, or skip the baste if you prefer a crisper skin.
- YieldSix potatoes, one per person as a main course with the watercress standing in for salad.