Wood Fired Pizza Dogs by Ooni

Hot Dogs and Pizza are two of America’s favorite “Cheat Day” indulgences. For one thing, they both taste great and really hit the spot. The other thing that our neighbors love about them is they’re endlessly customizable. Almost ANYTHING will taste good on pizza (we promise we’re not starting up another debate about pineapple) and a hot dog (yes, even ketchup). But this wood fired pizza dog recipe might be in a class of it’s own. Who wouldn’t want to trade out that bland whitebread bun for a crispy wood fired crust?

First things first; Make sure to prepare your dough well ahead of time before you fire up the Ooni oven. It will take around 3 to 4 hours for the pizza dough to get ready. Plus you aren’t looking to make the crusts round, you want them the size and shape of a good submarine sandwich roll, approximately 8 inches long and a couple of inches wide. Let your buns rise at room temperature for the last 30 minutes while you prepare everything else. Here’s Ooni’s recipe for Classic Pizza Dough.

Shop Wood Burning Ooni Pizza Ovens

Wood Fired Pizza Dog Ingredients:

25 ounces of Classic Pizza Dough
6 bun sized hot dogs (or your favorite sausage)
3 ounces of crispy fried onions
9 ounces grated or shredded cheddar cheese
A squeeze bottle of ketchup
Fine sea salt, to taste
Flour, for dusting

_____

4 fresh dill stems
2 small pickling cucumbers (they also go by English or Persian cucumbers)
¾ C water
2 TBSP sugar
¼ C white wine vinegar
2 tsp fine sea salt

_____

2.5 ounces mayonnaise
2 ounces Dijon mustard
1.8 ounces honey (or use Hot Honey for an extra kick)
0.2 ounces lemon juice

Sauce and Pickles First, Please

On a stove bring your water to a boil in a small sauce pan and mix in salt and sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in white wine vinegar then leave aside until later. Chop the dill stems and cucumbers. You should make slices that are thinner than regular hamburger dill slices. Put everything in a glass jar and pour the brine over it and let sit on the counter.

Next in a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. Add Hot Honey if you wish. Honey will make the consistency a little thicker, so you might want to put the mixture into a squeeze bottle for better presentation.

Using a larger sauce pan, bring a couple of cups of salted water to a boil and put all of your hot dogs or sausages in it, making sure no parts of them are uncovered by the water. Cook for around 8 – 10 minutes, then drain, dry and set aside.

Choose the Right Wood and Fire Up That Oven

You will want your pizza oven up around 750F – 850F and stable. You want to choose a fairly clean burning wood for this job, so avoid Mesquite, Ash or Cherry. Your best bet will most likely be Oak or Maple, as these types of wood burn very hot and clean, but let the natural flavors of your bread dough shine through. Use an infrared thermometer to be certain before loading your pizza dogs in.

Flour your work surface and begin gently pressing air bubbles through your dough toward the edges, alternately stretching it into a football shape. As the dough stiffens from being worked, make an indented pocket down the center of the shape to hold your sausage or hot dog in place. Transfer the stretched dough to a lightly dusted peel; add some cheese to the middle of the dough so it doesn’t rise or bubble during the bake. Use your pizza peel to place the dough into the oven for 1 minute, turning once halfway to ensure an even bake.