Churro Hot Dogs
An extra large churro with a whole hot dog in the middle, coated with a sweet, savory, and spicy sugar mixture! This was unbelievably good! It took me a while to figure out how to pull it off, but when I finally did, it was worth every minute! The crispy churro with the sweet and spicy coating was the ideal vehicle for a hot dog, and the spicy mayo was just the right dipping sauce!
The inspiration for this recipe
The Vulgar Chef and I do a live stream every week called Wiener Wednesday and we had been floating around the idea of how to put a hot dog into a churro. I set out to make this my personal mission. It was a long road to get there, but it was fun figuring things out along the way. When I finally was successful on the stream, it was really exciting! FYI- You can watch all the past live streams on our hot dog discord server!
The extra large custom piping tip and alternatives
I got so obsessed with this hot dog churro idea that I really wanted to make it perfect. After grabbing the largest piping tips I could find, and was disappointed to found out the thinnest hot dog was still too thick for the largest tip! I finally found these tips that are made for a specific type of cookie with a hole in the middle. Unfortunatly I had to remove the middle section! I was able to do it with a few whacks from a hammer. This would be enough for most people, but I wanted more! I used a jewelry saw to make the ridges more pronounced, and used some pliers to fold them in slightly. I also removed the sharp edges with a file.
If you don’t want to go through all that effort, you could always just cut the hot dogs into 1/4 the long way, and use the standard large tip. This would also make it easier in the end because the XL tip did not fit into the normal pastry bag setup. I had to use tape and two bags to make sure it was secure enough for the thick dough!
Make the churro dough
There is a debate online about using eggs or not in churros. I typically like the no-egg versions better and it was exceptionally better with these hot dog churros. The edges get super crispy! I used this recipe as a guide for the dough. Heat up the water, then stir in some oil, flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix until it becomes a smooth dough.
Put the hot dog into the churro dough
I mentioned earlier that the piping tip did not fit the normal thing I use to secure the tip to the bag. This is extra thick dough too. To make sure everything was secure I used two piping bags, cut the bag after the tip was tight in the bag, and used a few layers of tape to make sure it was stuck in place. I also made sure to brush the piping bag with oil to help the dough slide through easily.
Then just dredge the hot dogs in some flour, put the churro dough into the piping bag, and press the hot dog through the center.
Piping the churro hot dogs
A few things will happen at this point that you do not need to worry about. First, if you mess up, you can start over. Second, if you see some hot dog poking though the churro dough, it’s totally fine. You can see in the photo below. I fried it just like that and it still worked great. Third, there will be some parts of the churro that have no dog in them. Just use a knife and poke around to see where the dog starts. Cut off the excess and add it back to the dough pile to repeat.
Fry the churro hot dogs
Preheat the oil to 375 and drop the dogs in for about 5 minutes. You want them to be golden on all sides.
Coat the churro dog in the sugar mixture
Because these were hot dogs, I did not want the sugar mixture to be traditional, with just sugar and cinnamon. I also added chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and tajin. Let the churros cool on a rack for about 15 seconds so they aren’t still drenched in oil, then toss them in the sugar to coat.
Serve the churro hot dogs
The sauce is mayo, mustard, hot sauce, and lime juice. You could definitely adjust it to your tastes but I thought this version matched pretty well. I cut the churros in half before serving so people wouldn’t have to commit to a whole one, and so there were no surprises about what was inside.
There was some concern that this might be gimmicky when I set out to make it but they actually came out crazy good. I made them a few times to test them, and each time I had to try really hard to stop eating them! The churro dough gets so crispy on the edges and soft in the middle and it the perfect vehicle for the juicy dog.
Twists and tips on this recipe
I mentioned this is the churro recipe I used but you can use your favorite. Especially if you prefer the version with eggs. I also mentioned how I did the custom tip, but you could always quarter the dogs instead. If you do want to try making your own tip, feel free to reach out to me in the comments or on Instagram and I will try my best to help!
I also made a churro burger bun last year if you want more savory churro ideas.
Churro Hot Dogs
Equipment
- custom piping tip see blog post for more info
Ingredients
Sugar Coating
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon tajin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dip
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon Valentina hot sauce or your fave
- juice of one lime
- tajin for garnish
Churro Dough
- oil for frying
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- oil for coating the piping bag
- 3 hot dogs
- 1/2 cup flour for dredge
Instructions
- Mix the sugar coating together and set aside until ready to use
- Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside in the fridge until ready to use
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium sauce pan
- Bring the oil to 375 degrees in a heavy pan or deep fryer. You can do this as a shallow fry or deep fry.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Remove water from the heat and stir in the oil. Then stir in the flour mixture. Stir and beat until the smooth dough is formed, about 3 minutes.
- Dredge the hot dogs in the flour.
- Brush some oil into your piping bag to help the dough slide out easily.
- Set up parchment paper to pipe the churros onto. Add in about 1/3 of the dough and stick the hot dog through the middle until it is near the tip. Squeeze out your filling and push the hot dog through along with it, until the full hot dog has gone through. You can add more dough half way if needed. Do not worry if you can see some of the hot dog through the churro!
- Use a knife to test and see where the hot dog begins and ends in the churro. Cut the extra ends off that have no hot dog and put them back into the dough mix. Repeat this whole process with the other hot dogs.
- Add the dogs to the hot oil and cook about 5 minutes until golden on all sides.
- Remove the hot dogs from the oil to a drying rack. After about 15 seconds on the rack, transfer to the sugar mixture and coat on all sides.
- Serve the churro dogs! I cut mine in half and put them on a plate with the dip.