Carrot Hot Dog

This carrot hot dog recipe brought out my inner skeptic, but it really works! I thought I was imagining it when I took a bite of my carrot dog and found it truly had the texture of a hot dog. The marinade dulls the sweet flavor of the carrot, allowing my taste buds to think I had a hot dog in my hand. I thought maybe it was just me, but both my son and husband (a huge hot dog fan) were impressed with the carrot dogs.

Unlike hot dogs, this recipe does take some planning and preparation. And the resulting carrot dog is worth every bit of effort. I let my carrots marinate for 1 1/2 hours and then I roasted my carrots for 45 minutes. This timing seemed to be perfect. I served them right away. I topped my carrot with homemade yellow mustard and relish. Others in my house topped theirs with ketchup or enjoyed them plain in the bun.

Several years ago, a coworker told me about making carrot dogs. Let’s just say my reaction was skeptical, to put it nicely. But you never know until you try, right? I should mention that I’ve never liked regular hot dogs, not even as a kid. The word “hate” has passed my lips in reference to hot dogs. The vegetarian versions available commercially have similarly had no appeal—they taste like a fake version of something I already don’t like. So, okay, I thought, let’s give this carrot hot dog thing a try.

Turns out a carrot hot dog is pretty good. This recipe worked well as written and produced a just-tender, sorta-hot-dog-flavored carrot which, when slapped in a bun and topped with relish and spicy mustard, made for a damn good snack.

In the future, I’ll let the carrots marinate for 1 1/2 hours. I think longer is better here, although they do continue to absorb the flavor while they cook. Cook time was accurate to get a just-tender carrot. I’d marinate the carrots in a resealable plastic bag and use a smaller pan, just slightly longer than the carrots, to roast them.

I served the carrot dogs with spicy mustard, homemade dill relish, and jalapeño ketchup. These might be better with milder tasting condiments so the flavor of the marinade comes through. The carrots tasted quite nice on their own.

I’m not going to claim that it will quench a hot dog craving if you’re one of those people who like hot dogs. But the spicing in this recipe is similar to a hot dog, although cranked up a bit, which isn’t a bad thing. And isn’t a hot dog really just a vehicle for condiments anyway? Well, load it up!