Sometimes you just can’t decide whether to have a hotdog or a hamburger. In the “old” days, you’d have to either have one or the other, or both.
Not anymore! Behold the hamdog, a hamburger/hot dog hybrid.
Thought up in 2004 by Australian Mark Murray, he presented his idea to the judges of Shark Tank Australia in 2009 many of whom found it laughable. (Admittedly, it does look a bit ridiculous.)
So it took him a few more years to start selling his hamdogs to the public. According to this somewhat dated Mental Floss article, they are available in Australia at some sporting events and markets.
As a few years ago, Murray was still looking for a way to automate the bun-making process, a difficulty brought on by the bun’s odd shape.
I decided to create my hamdog bun by adapting the King Arthur Flour hamburger bun recipe and molding it into the right shape. Since I’m only making one, no automation needed!
The rest of the hamdog making is, of course, easy: just grilling your meats and topping them with the condiments. I used the classic lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard combination. But you can modify as you see fit.
Homemade Hamdog
Equipment
- oven
- skillet
- stove top
Ingredients
Buns
- 3 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/4 C. sugar
- 1 tbsp. instant yeast
- 2 tbsp. butter room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- 3/4 C. warm water ~100˚F/38˚C
- 3 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 egg white plus 2 tbsp. of water
- 1 tsp. white sesame seeds
Hamburger
- 20 oz. ground beef 80% lean 20% fat
- 8 hot dogs bun-length
Toppings
- 2 C. iceberg lettuce
- 1 medium onion sliced into 1/2" slabs
- 2 medium tomatoes sliced into 1/2" slices
- 8 slices cheese (optional)
- mustard
- ketchup
Instructions
Buns
- In a large bowl add all of the bun ingredients. Stir until it forms a shaggy dough.
- Turn dough on to the counter and knead for 3-5 minutes or until the surface of the dough is smooth.
- Lightly oil the bottom of a large bowl and the surface of the dough ball. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
- Using your fingertips, gently press on the dough to remove the gas.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Take one piece of dough and cut 2/3 of it, draw up the edges and pinch it into a parcel. Use a cupped hand and cup the dough ball shaping it into tight a ball. UsiForm the remaining piece into a cylinder. Cut the cylinder in half and attach each piece to the ball so that they oppose each other form a sort of lemon shape.
- Gently flatten the shaped dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the shaping for the remaining dough pieces.
- Cover the buns lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm spot for ~45 minutes or until noticeably puffy.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F/177˚C.
- Gently brush the risen buns with melted butter, then with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds.
- Bake in a preheated 350˚F/177˚C oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- Gently brush the buns with more melted butter.
Hamburger
- Divide the ground beef into 8 equal portions.
- Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
- Place a ball of beef into the pan and using a metal spatula press the firmly to create a bun-sized patty.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes with out moving, until you see blood on the surface of the patty.
- Using your spatula scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the patty and flip. Cook another 1-2 minutes or until no longer pink inside.
Hot Dog
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
- Add the hot dogs and cook for 3 minutes.
Assembly
- Slice the cooled bun in half.
- Cut the burger patty in half. Place it on the bottom bun leaving a space for the hot dog to go in the middle.
- Nestle the hot dog between the hamburger patties.
- Add a squiggle of mustard to the hot dog and top with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Cover with top bun and eat with gusto.