Teriyaki Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends

Yeah, you read that correctly. Salmon hot dogs are totally a thing, a very delicious thing. Grab a fork or toothpick, it’s time to devour these smoky, Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends. Seasoned with teriyaki spices and sauce, these are irresistible.

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Salmon… what what? Yes.

Sweet teriyaki glazed salmon bites, topped with sriracha mayo and scallions. Maybe it’s not your typical tailgating snack, but DANG these are so tasty. Every bite packs so much flavor plus the contrasting textures from the scallions and the smoked salmon hot dog edges.

So let’s unpack this, Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends… What? We need more explaining here.

These are salmon hot dogs sliced into smaller bite-size pieces, smoked, and then sauced for a second smoke. Traditional burnt ends use the same process of double-smoking with caramelization, hence the reference here.

Smoked salmon itself is crazy delicious. Using high-quality salmon hot dogs allows for the salmon flavor to shine through, so I wanted to pair it with the sweet and spicy profile of teriyaki.

Salmon Hot Dogs are a thing.

I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of fish hot dogs is pretty weird. We’ve seen and tried the odd varieties through the grocery stores over the years, driven by our curiosity or the random act of trying to be healthy. Let me preach from the mountaintops that these salmon hot dogs are exceptionally different.

These salmon hot dogs are from Kvaroy Arctic, a company that focuses on raising sustainable, farm-raised salmon from the Norwegian Inner Passage. All of their products have been extremely flavorful and fresh. I am not affiliated with Kvaroy Arctic but they did provide me with products to test.

The salmon hot dogs were the biggest surprise to me. They are skinless and have the near-perfect texture inside that you’d expect from a skinless Nathan’s frank. The variety I used for this recipe was the Jalapeno & Cheese.

What are Hot Dog Burnt Ends?

Burnt Ends tends to be a BBQ term that is used very loosely, which I’m also doing here. Creating burnt ends starts with smoked meat, typically brisket, adding some sweet ingredients, and then smoking it a second time to form caramelization. The sugary, smoky meat is almost like tender meat candy.

How do you cook a bunch of salmon hot dogs? Chop them up and smoke them. The idea of smoked salmon with Jalapeno & Cheese reminded me of Americanized sushi flavors. Taking that same concept of burnt ends and transferring it to the idea of hot dogs has been a fun transition.

Here we need to smoke them first, so they get slathered in mustard as a binder. These were coated in Dijon before being hit with an eastern Asian blend of spices and then tossed in the smoker.

I highly recommend using a wire rack for something as small as pieces of hot dogs. This will prevent anything from falling through the grates and will make your life much easier when transferring them in/out of the smoker:

Smoke and Sauce

Let’s get this going, the process is incredibly easy and doesn’t take much time. You may want to use a pellet grill for simplicity and shorter cook time.

1. Light it up. Preheat your smoker to 225°F. The pellets don’t matter as much here, but Mesquite and Apple are a tasty combo.
   
2. Prep the hot dogs. Slice the hot dogs of choice into smaller pieces, roughly 1-2″ in length. Slather them with the Dijon mustard first in a bowl, and then add your seasonings. Mustard helps the rub stick.
   
3. Smoke the hot dogs. Transfer the salmon hot dog pieces to the smoker, preferably just using a wire rack. Let them smoke undisturbed for an hour.
   
4. Let’s add sugar. Remove the hot dogs from the smoker and place them into a grill-safe pan, or foil pan. Make sure it’s a smaller pan, it helps to have the hot dogs touching each other. Add in the brown sugar, butter, and teriyaki sauce.
   
5. Time for the second smoke. Crank up the heat on your smoker to 400°F and place the grill-safe pan into the smoker, uncovered. We don’t want to braise the hot dogs, and this also gives them a second bath of wood-fired smoke flavor. Stir the hot dogs gently every 10 minutes and cook for around 30 minutes total. You’ll see the sauce bubbling and reducing.
   
6. Remove, add toppings, and enjoy. Remove the grill-safe pan with hot dogs from the smoker when you see the sauce is thicker, and there’s little liquid at the bottom. Serve the salmon hot dog burnt ends while warm, topping with garnishes such as sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and scallions.

Asian Flavors for Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends

Making your own rubs and sauces is a lot of fun and a lot of work. The teriyaki flavor profile of these salmon hot dog burnt ends is a huge hit, but to keep it easy there are great premade seasonings out there. I’ll share my recipe for the rub below, but otherwise, you should check out Sweet Teriyaki Sake by Spiceology. Their blend is an amazing combination of sweet, spicy, and savory. Pairs perfectly with this.

Homemade Teriyaki Seasoning

This quick blend of spices is salt-free, considering the sodium from the hot dogs and Teriyaki sauce.

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp chile flakes, or gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ginger powder

I do also have an incredible recipe for Homemade Teriyaki Sauce which works so well with BBQ. That’s what I used here!

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Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends

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Grab a fork or toothpick, it’s time to devour these smoky, Salmon Hot Dog Burnt Ends. Seasoned with teriyaki spices and sauce, these are irresistible.

• Total Time: 95 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 people 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lb Salmon hot dogs, approximately 8
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp Teriyaki seasoning blend, or Sweet Teriyaki Sake
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce
• Sriracha mayo
• Sliced scallions (optional)
• Sesame seeds for garnish

Teriyaki Seasoning Blend

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp chile flakes, or gochugaru
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ginger powder

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Instructions

1. Preheat your smoker or grill for indirect cooking at 225°F.
2. Slice the hot dogs into smaller pieces, roughly 1.5″ long. Place them into a bowl and add the Dijon mustard, stirring gently to completely coat them. Add in the spices a bit at a time and stir to make sure they are seasoned on all sides. 
3. Place the salmon hot dogs on a wire rack and into the smoker. Allow them to cook undisturbed for 60 minutes.
4. Remove the hot dog pieces from the smoker and place them into a small grill-safe pan or foil pan. We want the hot dogs to touch each other and stay close, so make sure you use a smaller size. Add in the butter, brown sugar, and Teriyaki sauce.
5. Turn up the heat on the smoker to 400°F. Place the pan, uncovered, back into the smoker for 30 minutes. Stir the hot dogs gently every 10 minutes or more, making sure the sauce doesn’t scorch on the bottom.
6. Remove the hot dogs when you see the sauce that thickened and there’s very little liquid at the bottom of the pan.
7. Serve and garnish with sriracha mayo, sesame seeds and sliced scallions.

Notes

You can use this same process for any type of hot dog, or combination of flavors.

• Author: Brad Prose
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 90 minutes
• Category: Seafood
• Method: Smoking
• Cuisine: BBQ

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