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Living, working, and playing in Mazatlan, Mexico

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Dog Gone Mexican

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Newcomers to Mazatlan often bemoan the lack of "authentic" Mexican food in Mazatlan. And I can understand it. When most people think of Mexican food, they envision tamales, enchiladas, beautiful moles, and slow-roasted barbacoa. And while all of that food is authentically Mexican, it does not encompass all Mexican food. We live on the coast here. There isn't a lot of grazing room for cows and sheep and goats. We have delicious fish and shrimp. And the most Mexican food of all – hot dogs.

Americans like to claim hot dogs as much as baseball and apple pie, but Mexicans have gone much further in embracing the tube-shaped mystery meat and made it a part of the culture and daily life. Hot dogs are seen as an ingredient, not just a food in and of itself. The humble hot dog is employed in unique and sometimes questionable (from an American standpoint, anyway) ways on a daily basis.

You can get a dynamite hot dog from numerous street vendors throughout the city each night. Why hot dogs are only a nighttime food I haven't yet figured out, but many foods here seem to have a time of day associated with them, and trying to acquire a food outside of its designated time zone can be next to impossible.

I should point out here that in Mexico a hot dog is not actually a "hot dog" until it is on a bun. If it is not on a bun, it is a salchicha. I was trying to explain to my friend Julio what beanie weenies are. I told him that they were sweet beans with hot dogs cut up in them. The face he made made me think I had seriously messed something up with my incomplete mastery of Spanish, so I tried again in English. Still the same face. Finally, I realized he thought I meant entire hot dogs – buns, condiments and all – chopped up and mixed in with beans. And, yeah, that does sound pretty gross. I have never made the hot dog/salchicha mistake again when talking with a Spanish speaker. I still say hot dog with English speakers, though. I didn't grow up using frankfurter, and it just sounds odd to me.

If you have any doubts about the pervasiveness of hot dogs in Mexican culture, just get yourself down to any good-sized market and measure the yards – yes, yards – of cooler space dedicated to the display and sale of hot dogs. The array of brands and styles is dizzying. The first couple of times we bought hot dogs I just closed my eyes and reached into the case at random to choose which ones to buy. Then I discovered you don't have to buy them by the package. You can buy them by the kilo, specifying the number of hot dogs you want, which means that the number of hot dogs and hot dogs buns I have always match up! But the better advantage of buying by the kilo is that the lovely ladies behind the counter are delighted to give you samples of the different hot dogs, making that purchasing decision so much easier.

There is a huge range of price and quality in hot dogs. The prices range from $25 to $60 a kilo and quality goes from worse-than-gritty-bologna to not-too-bad-for-an-extruded-food-product-made-from-ground-up-animal-parts. Some hot dogs are so cheaply made that they don't even bother removing the plastic casing from the hot dog before packaging it and selling it to you. So when you get your hot dogs home and go to cook them, you have to notice and remove the plastic first. Not being the kind of girl who gets super excited about eating food that comes in its own condom, I choose to buy a more expensive hot dog.

I have eaten my fair share of hot dogs since we moved to Mexico, usually on a bun, and particularly in the summer, when it is a blessing to be able to toss something in the microwave and have an instant meal. But I have also eaten other hot dog creations. Invariably, our once-a-month Walmart trip occurs in the middle of the day when we are starving and pressed for time. It's so easy to stroll over to the bakery and pick up a couple of hot dogs baked in puff pastry – a slightly elevated form of Pigs In a Blanket - and eat them in the car on the way to our next stop.

Some of the things I have seen done with hot dogs defy comprehension – as in the case of Hot Dog Cannelloni: cannelloni shells each with one complete hot dog inserted in the middle and then covered with a cream sauce. Yuck, yuck, YUCK! But some things display a true ingenuity for employing a low-cost food option while still achieving harmony of flavor, and, actually, a little class – like the Potato and Hot Dog Tart. I have seen hot dog pasta, fried rice, soup, casserole – even hot dogs cut to look like an octupus. You'll find it as a topping option at most pizzerias. And, late in the evening, after several too many Pacificos, hot dogs rolled in tortillas then sliced and deep fried really hit the spot.

I was having a business meeting at a local restaurant, and my client and I decided we were a little peckish. We noticed a cold plate on the menu, described as a selection of cold cuts, cheeses, and olives. It sounded like just the thing, an easy to eat snack to be shared, so we ordered it. When it arrived, the plate was covered with beautiful salami, tasty ham, creamy Gouda cubes, a wonderfully salty Panela, tangy green olives...and torn up bits of American cheese slices (another extremely common item) and, yes, sliced cold hot dogs. What surprises me is that I was surprised. I should have expected it. What's even more surprising is that I would probably order it again.

Viva la salchicha.

Comments (5)
  • Guest
    Scrambled eggs and fried sliced hot dogs, yum. :)
  • jennifer
    For me, it's macaroni and cheese with sliced hot dogs. What a comfort food!
  • SANTIAGO
    Safe at first base! YOUR OUT! You and your hot dogs.
    Only one way to eat a hot dog. First ya throw em on the barbie.
    Cook em till they split and have those YUMMIE black grill marks. Ya throw in the bun, add all those yummie condiments. Ya know, to much ketchup (runs all over the place), mustard, onions whatever.
    NOW ya grab that COLD COLD PACIFICO.

    Now that's how ya eat a dog!

    That's a HOME RUN.

    Jajajaja bet yur boca is watering......jajajaja
  • jennifer
    That's the way we do them at home (in fact, did it last night. After writing about hot dogs, I just had to have one). Buuuuuut...I think its a toss up over which is better - on the grill at home or wrapped in bacon on a griddle from the hot dog vendors.
  • NancyD
    Paul is always searching for hot dogs NOT made of turkey or chicken. Once in a blue moon you can find beef somewhere. But what is it with acres and acres of turkey dogs, anyway?

    Me, I head over to Naturalia and buy a can of the vegie dogs and am perfectly satisfied!
  • jennifer
    I know! Finding ham made from actual ham is equally hard. Turkey ham everywhere! Why is everything here made from turkey when you can't actually buy turkey? Craziness.

    Here's a hint, though: sometimes Sam's has a 3 pound pack of National Hebrew kosher all beef hot dogs.
  • Zoe
    After trying a couple, you'd have to pay me big money to actually go out and BUY them! To me, there is something really nasty about them; like biting into ewwwww, I don't want to say.

    With all the really GREAT food around, this will not be one on my platter any time soon. No way, Jose! Still loving the piloncillo, though, Jennifer.
  • jennifer
    Ahhh....to each his own. They are gross, but also divine. And in another couple months, will be a staple around our house ;)
  • Paul  - Salchipapas
    In Mιrida I had salchipapas, very common there. Hot dogs are cut into short pieces, then a cross is cut into the ends. They are deep fried with french fried potatoes and the ends open up like flowers. Potatoes and salchichas are served mixed together. Pretty good really.
  • jennifer
    OMG those sound good, Paul. Toss on a ladle of chili and that is probably the best awful junk food hot dog dish I can imagine.
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