**Adding Acid to Hot Dogs: A Guide**

When it comes to adding acid to hot dogs, there are many options available, but not all of them are created equal. The key is finding the right balance to add flavor and excitement to this classic summer food. In this article, we'll explore some creative ways to add acid to hot dogs, from condiments to DIY relishes.

**Umboshi Paste: A Salty Solution**

One option for adding acidity to hot dogs is to use umeboshi paste, a type of Japanese pickled plum that's known for its sour taste. However, as our author notes, umeboshi paste can be quite salty, which may not be ideal when it comes to balancing out the flavors in a hot dog. Most hot dogs are already quite salty, so adding more salt with umeboshi paste might be overwhelming. Instead, our author recommends using it as a way to add acidity, rather than relying solely on salt for flavor.

**Preserved Lemon: A Tangy Twist**

Another option for adding acidity to hot dogs is to use preserved lemon, which has a nice balance of tangy and salty flavors. While good in small doses, preserving lemons can be quite potent, so it's best used as a topping or mixed into relishes rather than slathered on the dog itself.

**Acidic Toppings: The Easy Way Out**

For those who want to avoid making their own condiments from scratch, there are plenty of store-bought options available. One of our author's favorite ways to add acidity to hot dogs is with a pre-made Thai chili paste that adds a spicy and tangy flavor. Mixing this with some chopped peanuts and papaya creates a crunchy and refreshing topping that's perfect for hot summer days.

**Achaar: A South Asian Pickle**

For those who want to try something new, our author recommends using achaar, a type of Indian pickle made from mixed fruits and vegetables. While the idea may seem daunting, there are countless variations of achaar available in stores, making it easy to experiment with different flavors and ingredients. From classic mango chutney to spicy green chutney, there's an achaar out there for everyone.

**The Easiest Option: Tamarind and Lime**

For those who want to add acidity to hot dogs without having to make their own condiments from scratch, our author suggests using tamarind and lime juice. This classic combination is easy to mix together and adds a tangy flavor that's perfect for balancing out the richness of hot dogs. Simply chop some fresh tamarind fruit or use store-bought tamarind paste and squeeze in some fresh lime juice, and you're good to go.

**The Secret to Softening Buns**

One of our author's most valuable tips for making hot dogs is to wrap them in foil before grilling. This simple trick allows the meat heat to generate steam inside the bun, softening it in a way that's reminiscent of a perfectly toasted ballpark hot dog. The key is to leave the wrapped hot dog alone for a couple minutes before unwrapping and serving.

**Seed: A Daily Synbiotic Supplement**

In addition to our author's culinary tips, we'd like to take a moment to talk about their daily supplement routine. Our author swears by DS1 daily synbiotic capsules from Seed, which contain 24 clinically and scientifically studied microorganisms that promote gut health and overall well-being. With its patented capsule delivery system, DS01 ensures that the probiotics reach the colon intact, without refrigeration required. Our author takes two capsules with their morning room-temperature water, mostly for gut health but also to boost hydration. Use code Shaq25 for 25% off your first order of DS01 and check out the link in the description for more information.

**Conclusion**

Adding acidity to hot dogs is all about balance and experimentation. From store-bought condiments to homemade relishes, there are countless options available to add flavor and excitement to this classic summer food. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting to explore new flavors, our author's tips and recommendations will help you create delicious and memorable hot dog experiences that will leave your friends begging for more.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHot dog season is upon us, but the lesson you learn from watching this video is evergreen.  Acid is one thing that intermediate cooks tend to struggle with. If you’re past the beginner stage,  you’re good at hitting the right temps, textures, and salt levels, so this is probably the next  thing to master. Acid is good at counteracting lots of fat in a dish. You’ll hear it described  as “cutting through the fat”. Paying attention to this stuff is how you get better at making  balanced food. The hot dog is the perfect medium for practicing this skill. Hot dogs are salty  and fatty. We add acidic condiments to them all the time. Mustard, pickle relish, giardiniera,  sauerkraut… these are tangy toppings for dogs and brats that balance the bite. Of course,  sometimes I put bacon or mackin chee on my dog to lean deliberately out of balance into the  realm of gratuitousness, but a bun-bound sausage is, I think, the best subject for  this exercise. What a perfect  opportunity to bring international flavors to a Fourth of July party. Take Kimchi for example.  It is spicy, tangy, and all you gotta do to coax it into a proper weiner-clinging  texture is chop it into small pieces. I’ll do the same thing to this escabeche,  a Mexican pickled mix of carrots and jalapeños plus maybe some onions and cauliflower. Get your  notepads out because there’s more headed your way.This is Đồ Chua. It’s a vietnamese mix of carrot  and daikon matchsticks that are seasoned with salt and sugar, then pickled in rice vinegar. If you’ve  eaten banh mi, this is that orange and white stuff. It’s a fantastic hot dog topping, and you  could lean even more into that banh mi influence by adding cilantro, a squiggle of sriracha, heck,  even some pate on the bun. But, on its own, Đồ Chua deserves a spot in your hot dog bar lineup.  I use the recipe from Serious Eats. I’d rather not get into the weeds of how exactly to make each  item I cover today step by step. You’re better off searching recipes online than relying on me  as your arbiter of recipes. To illustrate why, consider this Trinidadian Chow. It is sweet from  mangoes. It’s spicy from minced habanero. And the chadon beni brings a little hit of herbaceousness.  What’s that? You don’t have chadon beni or culantro at your local grocery store? If you value  authenticity above all, you probably won’t make this. But someone who’s fine with a small amount  of approximation will use cilantro stems instead. You don’t even have to use the main ingredient in  this recipe. Swap the mango for pineapple or cucumbers and it’s still chow. That’s why I’m  not interested in getting into specific recipes today— if any of these dog toppers speak to you,  find a recipe you like depending on what you care about and try it. Then again, some of these are so  simple you don’t really need a recipe. If you slice a red onion super thin, toss that with  a small handful of chopped parsley, and dress that with a reasonable amount of lemon juice,  olive oil, salt, and pepper, followed by a big shower of ground sumac, you’ll get these Turkish  sumac onions. That sumac is delightfully tart. I love this on a hot dog. I realize this video’s  conceit is a bit silly, but you gotta trust the wax-on wax-off mysticism of my instruction  here. Once you learn how to make something like this, you’ve unlocked a whole new way  to add acidity to a dish in solid form, outside the typical squirt of liquid acid. If you were,  like me, once mentally shackled to chimmichurri as the only fresh, herbaceous condiment to spoon  over grilled ribeye or bone marrow toast points, all these hot dog toppings apply. Caponata is an italian relish made mostly from eggplant, plus briney capers and olives,  dressed in a tangy agrodolce. I’d go easy on the salt when making this one. There were some good  contenders for this list that are disqualified due to their salinity. Most hot dogs are plenty salty,  so umeboshi paste or preserved lemon, although good ways of adding acid in solid form,  aren’t necessarily good ways to add acid to a hot dog. The lesson at hand here is balance, and salt has  to be considered as always. I do wanna give a couple lazier options. I didn’t even make this.I just ordered a Papaya salad from a Thai restaurant nearby, and after chopping it into a finer relish,  I’ve got a hot dog topping that’s spicy from Thai chilies, crunchy from peanuts and papaya,  and most importantly, acidic from tamarind and lime. If you prep a big container of this and  bring it to the cookout to pester everyone like “no trust me put this on your dog”,  it’s gonna be a hit. And nobody has to know you didn’t make it yourself. Finally,  there’s no way I could publish this list without mentioning achaar. It’s a south asian pickle made  out of mixed fruits and vegetables, but there are so many versions of just the Indian kind, and then  a dozen spinoffs like Acar or Atjar... that this is one that I think you deliberately SHOULD buy a  jar of before making your own. I don’t think it’s realistic to be like “hey guys, who wants to top  one of the world’s easiest foods with a complex labor-intensive condiment that has an infinite  number of variations before they even know what it’ll taste like”, so you’ve got my permission  to buy some before you’re sold on the idea.I do hope you try one or two of these for your  next cookout this summer. If you refuse, I’ll at least leave the plain dog-downers with one  hot tip: Get a sheet of the cheapest flimsiest lightest-duty foil they sell, and after you  construct the hot dog, wrap the whole thing up and leave it alone for a couple minutes before  digging in. The meat heat’ll generate steam, and that trapped steam will soften the bun in a  way that’s reminiscent of a good ball park hot dog. Thank you for watching my lesson on how to add  acid to a hot dog. Perhaps this can be considered a sequel to my video about adding *** to popcorn,  and I can wrap the trilogy up with a monologue on how to add ay*hu*sca to funnel cake.Seed has paid to be mentioned at the end of this video seed makes DS1 daily synbiotic a  little capsule that I take at the beginning of each day to imbue my guts with a broad spectrum  of prebiotic and probiotic microorganisms it contains 24 clinically and scientifically studied  microorganism strains for whole body benefits like gut skin and heart health the characteristic that  I care most about is the survivability of those microorganisms I wouldn't want to make a habit  out of eating probiotics that don't make it to the colon ds01 is delivered inside of a patented  capsule inside of a capsule via cap which is engineered to survive digestion but also is good  at protecting its contents such that you don't need to refrigerate the capsules I wake up thirsty  every day so the first thing I do is take two DS01 capsules with my morning quart sized chug of room  temp water I take it mostly for the promotion of gut health but it can promote healthy skin  hydration too so win-win use my code Shaq25 for 25% off seed's ds01 daily synbiotic that's code  Shaq25 and there's a link in the description that applies the code for you automatically at checkout\n"