Have you ever noticed that some things are never really low sodium. Like ham or many Asian sauces. Hot dogs are another one of those things. When a hot dog is listed as “low sodium”, it’s still very high. I wanted to set out to make our own low sodium hot dogs, but didn’t know where to start. Not until I found a video from Joshua Weissman on homemade chili dogs was I inspired to try making them myself. These don’t need to be over salted. There’s plenty of flavor in this recipe. I am still using the curing salt and a quarter of the overall added salt. I don’t want these to be bland. One thing I am going to skip is the drying time and smoking. I don’t have a smoker and when I dried these as per his recipe the overall hot dog was dry. When I cooked a little of the leftover filling before drying, it was amazing. Sorry, Joshua, I don’t think this needs a full two tablespoons of salt to be good. I know, Papa no kiss. Maybe Papa might try this out for himself. The method for the most part, is the same. The ingredients are changed slightly.

One thing I will mention, and Joshua mentions this too, is to not use more than the stated curing salt in this recipe. DON’T DO IT. Curing salt by itself is TOXIC in larger doses than the amount specified in the recipe. The goal is to kill botulism, not you. Make sure the package of curing salt is kept out of reach of children and labeled clearly so that someone doesn’t accidentally use it to salt their food.

Here are the stats for these hot dogs:

Kerry’s Low Sodium Version of Joshua Weissman’s Hot Dogs

58 Hot Dogs (6 inches in length)

• 72g, Coconut Flour
• 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander 
• 1 tbsp, Garlic powder
• 2.50 tbsp, Smoked Paprika
• 2 tsp, Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp(s), mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon, Brown Sweetener
• 0.75 cup, distilled water
• 3 lb(s), pork shoulder
• 3 lb(s), Beef Chuck
• 0.50 tbsp, Salt
• 5g, Curing Salt (Weight this PLEASE.  This needs to be exact.)
• 1 package of collagen casings or natural casings, if available.

1. If using natural casings, rinse off the salt from the casings. Soak in warm water for 1 hour.  If using collagen casings, skip this.
2. Cut meat into long strips.
3. Run strips through the meat grinder attachment in a stand mixer.
4. After grounding the meat, give the meat one more pass through the meat grinder.
5. Knead the meat for 30 seconds before adding water and knead until it comes together.
6. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Add ice water and mix until paste forms.
7. Add paste to the meat and mix until combined. 3-5 minutes.
8. Slide a sheet casing over a sausage stuffer and start stuffing. Stuff until the casing is full. Make sure to leave a little room at the end to tie it off.  Twist the casing at hot dog length. Repeat with the remaining casings and meat. NOTE – twist the casing between each hot dog really tight.  If you don’t they will unravel.
9. Setup a steamer and steam the hot dogs in batches for 15 minutes.  Serve or freeze.