Octo-dog tutorial, with picture! (not actual octopus)

[Jangalian]

Ok, here's a quick and easy to do tutorial I made for anyone who wants to make an octopus hotdog.

You will need -
hotdog (one dog will make 2 octo-dogs)
sharp knife
small skillet
butter
condiments

We start with a hot dog.



Next, take your sharp knife and slice it half.



Now, make three diagonal cuts that go halfway up the hotdog, so that you have 'tentacles'.

[Jangalian]

Next, take the skillet and put it on the stove. You'll want to use a small skillet so it limits the amount of butter you need to put in it. Add a small pat of butter.



Heat on medium heat until the butter has melted. Now add your dogs, with plenty of space between them.



As they cook, the skin on the dog will tighten and curl the 'tentacles' of your 'octopus', so you'll want to use tongs or a fork to turn them as they cook so that all sides are cooked to a nice golden brown.

[Jangalian]

When the tops are done, stand them up on their 'tentacles' so that the bottoms will cook and force them to remain curled that way.



When finished, remove them from the skillet, pat them on some paper towels to remove any excess butter, and you're done!

[Vephriel]

Eee I've always wanted to try these. ^_^ Thanks Jang!

[Jangalian]

Np! =D There's a hot dog cutter that will make the cuts for you, but for the life of me, I couldn't find mine. There's also tulip, crab, penguin and Hello Kitty shapers too. It's a great way to make a plain old dog seem interesting, especially to kids. Also, great for bento boxes.

Edit - You can buy them here.

[Quin]

That is super cute!

[Saturo]

Neat!

[Quin]

I should try and make this for the kids. I bet they would get a kick out of it. They love hot dogs!

[Jangalian]

Use a ketchup bottle to add eyes. And a smile, if you're feeling daring.

Here's a note. If you're using the hot dogs that have a red casing, you can follow the cutting instructions and they will curl up when you boil them.

You can cook these for the kids if you're cooking fish and they don't like fish! That way, they can pretend to eat the tentacles off of a baby octopus! Nom nom nom! And the ketchup could be blood! Arrrgh tentacles! Man the torpedos! Bite that other tentacle off! It's defenseless! Nom!

...ahem. I played octo-dog with my nephew.

[Kamalia]

Nom nom nom! And the ketchup could be blood! Arrrgh tentacles! Man the torpedos! Bite that other tentacle off! It's defenseless! Nom!

...ahem. I played octo-dog with my nephew.

Thanks Jang! I'm definitely going to have to remember this if my little cousin ever comes over around lunch. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it!

[Epicfail]

I MUST MAKE THESE!!!!!!

[Epicfail]

I made these last night on the grill. They weren't as easy to do as their little legs kept getting stuck in the grill, but overall had a good experience making them. I'm going to probably make these every time the kids come over for a special treat. Truly an awesome idea.

[zedxrgal]

Sorry to revive this but I've been making octo-dogs since this thread started and I love them! Such fun.

I also figured out what I was doing wrong. Used a little oil instead of butter. I'll use butter from now on or boil them.

[VelkynKarma]

No, revival is good, it means I see this topic

Must try this. Looks so adorably delicious.....

~VelkynKarma