Unique and Unusual Hot Dog Toppings

Summer is here and the grills are being fired up to cook just about everything to keep the kitchen cool and allow people to enjoy the sun and friends longer. The hot dog and the grill have a long affair and affiliation with summer. Despite the hot dog's strange history, it is still one of the most grilled meats during the summer.

Ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions are all standard fair for the top of the hot dog, but there are more unique and unusual combinations to top your dog. This article offers twelve different toppings to give your hot dog new life. While this article offers only twelve, almost anything is fair game to create and truly unique hot dog.

1. Marinara sauce, cottage cheese, sautéed onions and peppers and chives. (Courtesy of Colada's Snack Shack in Columbia City, IN).

2. In Sweden, they enjoy their hot dogs with crispy fried onions and a shrimp salad (Source: www.chow.com).

3. In France, their fries are not just a side dish, but a hot dog topping as well (Source: www.chow.com).

4. A sauce made from mayonnaise, eggs, vinegar, dill pickle relish and curry is enjoyed in Iceland (Source: www.chow.com).

The people at Busy Bee Lifestyle (www.busybeelifestyle.com) offer these tantalizing ideas for topping the humble hot dog:

5. Salsa, nacho cheese sauce and broken chips for that fiesta feel.

6. Peeled (or simply scrubbed), diced and sautéed potatoes along with sautéed and raw diced onions and both red and green diced bell pepper.

7. Diced sun dried tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese and chopped kalamata olives give the hot dog a Mediterranean feel and taste.

8. Who says fruit is just limited to snacking and dessert? It can also be used as a hot dog topping. Try this combination of sliced and diced fresh peaches, chopped scallions (as known as green onions) and fruit chutney.

Now if you have become truly adventurous in topping your hot dogs with just about anything, the Gourmet Chili Dog (www.gourmetchilidog.com) has some truly strange ideas to top a hot dog, but anything goes and it is worth a try:

9. For an Asian flair, try topping your hot dog with chop suey (even though this dish was made in America).

10. For a taste of the Caribbean, try fried diced plantains (look like bananas, but are starchy like potatoes) and a dash of your favorite jerk seasoning (can be purchased at any local mega mart store).

11. Go to the islands (Hawaii) when you top your hot dog with drained crushed pineapple and flaked coconut.

12. Chopped chicken liver and thinly sliced onions give the hot dog the flair of a New York Deli.

The toppings are endless, even if you cannot leave to go on some exotic vacation; you can take your taste buds on one with only a bit of experimentation and a strong stomach. Who knows, you just might find a new way to top your hot dog.