Welcome to Clubhouse Eats, where we celebrate the game’s most delectable food and drink. Hope you brought your appetite.
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The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and with it comes the tradition of fireworks, parades, and cookouts — the latter of which almost always include burgers and hot dogs. This year, if you want to combine those two grilling staples, you can take a page out of Firestone Country Club’s playbook, which — ironically — was borrowed from the Olympic Club (though even the revered Bay Area golf club’s popular grab-and-go item originated outside of its gates).
The now-famous burgerdog is a long, rectangular beef patty made from a blend of ground chuck, which is then topped with fresh condiments and served on a toasted hot dog bun. It was created in 1950 by Bill and Billie Parrish, a husband-and-wife team that owned Hot Dog Bills, a mobile hamburger trailer in San Francisco. According to Tyson Podolski, a chef at Firestone CC, you could form your ground beef mixture by hand, essentially shaping it into miniature meatloaves. Or, you could do what the Firestone kitchen team does and use a mold sourced from Hot Dog Bills. (We recommend option B.)
Much like making your own burger patties (click here to learn more), Podolski suggests a 70-30 blend — the fat content keeps the burger juicy — and he encourages home cooks to use a flat-bottom pan or griddle. “The issue first-timers might have is trying it on the grill,” he says. “It can work, but it’s much more difficult.”
As for the cooking time and temperature, Firestone’s chef advises home cooks to sear a burgerdog on both sides over medium-high heat. Since the country club only uses 4 oz. of meat for each burgerdog, the cooking time shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. And when it comes to choosing the roll, Chef Podolski says the simplest versions typically work best. “We tried Brioche buns and other gourmet buns,” he acknowledges, “but normal 8-inch or 6-inch buns work perfectly.”
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The secret to a great burgerdog, according to Chef Podolski, isn’t complicated. It simply requires a flavorful blend of beef and liberal seasoning with salt and pepper. After that, it’s all a matter of the condiments, which — as you might expect — are up to personal taste. “Bread and butter pickles help cut through the fattiness and give a good crunchy punch of vinegar,” says Podolski, who also makes a club-secret burger sauce that includes mustard, mayonnaise, onions, pickles, and Sambal (an Indonesian chili pepper sauce).
Podolski isn’t about to share the recipe for that secret weapon, but he’s happy to provide instructions to make his own personal sauce, which we’ve listed below:
Chef Tyson Podolski’s Personal Burgerdog Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise (recommended brand: Hellmann’s)
3 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. dill pickle relish
1 tbsp. whole grain mustard
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 lemon, juiced
Preparation:
In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth and well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.