The first time (there’s been two…) my PBS TV series director saw me cry, it was over a Mexican hot dog.<\/p>\n
We were filming for Season 3 in Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoac\u00e1n. We had heard from many locals that the best Mexican-style hot dogs in the city were the ones at Richard’s.<\/p>\n
You shouldn’t be surprised about Mexican-style hot dogs in the Mexican culinary repertoire. We love our hot dogs! In every city or town in Mexico, no matter how small or big, a few feet away from the top-selling taco stand, you are likely to find a top-selling hot dog stand. And once you try one, I bet that’s how you will want to prepare them in the future.<\/p>\n
So anyway, we headed to Richard’s to meet him, film how he makes his hot dogs and try them. When we travel, I can’t help but share the food I love with my production team. I ask the sound guy, Dave, to take a bite, hoping he understands why I moan so much… I ask the camera guy, James, to take a bite too, so he can see\u00a0why I keep on insisting that things are this or that good… The same goes for the director, Dan, the producer, Allie, and, well, pretty much everyone on board. If I taste something magnificent, I really want to share it with my team, mostly because I want them to experience it along with me. But this time it was different.<\/p>\n
We got to Richard’s, he was super friendly, and he made\u00a0an insane hot\u00a0dog. Different from usual, I was not sharing a single bite with anyone and was very quiet. Not my normal self for sure. To the point that the director started asking, “Hey Pati, are you ok…?” And “why aren’t you showing it to camera,” and “…do you want to give James or Dave a bite?” I was zoned out. I was just shaking my head and eating the hot dog, so very slowly.<\/p>\n
See, Mexican hot dogs and I go a long way back, as most Mexicans I guess. But in my case, rewind like 30 years ago. I was a girl, and my oldest sister started driving my sisters and me to school. Enjoying our newly found freedom, we started stopping at El Gal\u00e1n<\/em> hot dog stand on our way back home. Though our intention was to have just one, it ended up being at least two or three. And, con todo,\u00a0<\/em>with all the trimmings.<\/p>\n El Gal\u00e1n<\/em> translates to dreamboat or a hunk, which he was not, but his hot dogs were to die for. He would drizzle some oil on his hot plancha,<\/em> or griddle, and throw on some chopped white onions, pickled jalape\u00f1os, and tomatoes. Then, as they sizzled, he’d squirt on some yellow mustard and ketchup with a secret sweet ingredient (we later found out it was orange soda!) and mix everything up. Onto that delicious mess, he threw a slice of American cheese and, once it melted, he piled everything onto a soft bun and topped it with a steaming turkey hot dog<\/a> wrapped in crisp bacon. If you wanted your hot dog extra especial, a couple more crispy bacon slices would also show up at the party.<\/p>\n Then we would head home. Once there, we weren’t that hungry anymore. Once my dad figured out our shenanigans, he took out a $100 MN pesos bill, gave it to my oldest sister and announced that since we weren’t eating my mom’s planned home made meals, we were to eat at El Gal\u00e1n\u00a0<\/em>every day for that month. We were delighted to hear that, though we really tried not to show it… Now, I know what it feels like to be a parent that takes a disciplining measure that does nothing but fail, and then doesn’t know how to take it back.<\/p>\n In any case, we soon stopped going every day and left that hot dog rendez vous\u00a0<\/em>for Fridays, not to make my mom sad. It was a truly special time in our lives. And I am telling you those hot dogs were INSANE.<\/p>\n Then life happened. Then our parents divorced. Then we grew up.<\/p>\n Fast forward 30 years and I am eating Richard’s hot dog in Morelia. After\u00a0a few minutes later, I snapped out of it, and we started filming again. I showed my hot dog to camera and ate some and shared most. \u00a0As we wrapped the day up, I asked Richard for an extra hot dog. I walked to the van, sat in the back, closed the door, and ate it by myself. A few minutes later, the director opened the door to find me weeping. When I saw his concerned look, I just said, “it is nothing really, it was just the hot dog.”<\/p>\n Here is the recipe as good as I remember it, minus the orange soda which I find to be really not necessary. Do\u00a0try it at home!<\/p>\n p.s. Oh… pictured to the left of\u00a0the dreamboat hot dog is a\u00a0hot dog del mercado<\/em> or market style hot dog, which is also phenomenal, and it is included in my new cookbook Mexican Today<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n