Hot Dog Buns- To Steam or Not To Steam?

I'm going to be serving hot dogs in my new restaurant and I was wondering what everyones opinions were on steamed buns. Do you like your bun steamed or not?

Thanks,
Will

Are you serious?

Steamed. No question about it.

NE buns please take um either sneamed or baked .

throw them on the grill for a second or two. Steams buns, are IMO, mushy. It's ok for a street vendor to do, but in a restaurant, I expect a little more.

Steam! Always steam!

As a consumer...I like them steamed.

Buttered and grilled.

seems like I read a certain type of bun is needed for steaming,
regular buns get mushy.

Keep your buns in a humidified warmer or get a tabletop steamer if your volume is low. It is the only way to serve a dog.

I'll go along with Mr. Hoffman...Butter and grill...kind of like the old Howard Johnson's!!!

Yup, buttered and grilled. Steam adds no flavor and makes them too squishy.

I'm all for buttered and grilled.

Steamed or grilled, but thank you for not planning to take them out of the package and slap a dog on them.

EddyBees Dogs,
Yes I'm serious, why?

Definitely buttered and grilled. The hot dog I recently had at Simco's in Mattapan (a section of Boston) was great, but it was made that much better from the fact that the bun was buttered and grilled.

-MH

My grandfather owned a small "chain" of places in Springfield, MO, when I was young. One of his best-selling items was the foot-long coney. He had a "bun steamer" in each place, and we always gave it 2 shots before adding the dog, some of his "hillbilly sauce" (catsup, garlic, cayenne), his homemade chili, and reconstituted onions.

It was heavenly.

So, yes, go with the steam.

Steamed.

When steaming buns, it's best to use a par-baked bun in steamer box. The steamers on my cart are identical to equipment used in Chicago hot dog stands.

CSD PhD-Professor of Hot Dogs

A bun without steam is like the Queen of England without her crown! God save the Steam!]

CSD PhD-Professor of Hot Dogs- Elaborate on a Par-Baked Bun Please[8D

quote:

Originally posted by leethebard

I'll go along with Mr. Hoffman...Butter and grill...kind of like the old Howard Johnson's!!!

I'll second or third that.

I wish I could find a steamer box like CSD's.... to add to my cart. No room on my cart now to steam buns and haven't found any par-baked buns locally. Would like to try butter-n-grilling them, but will have to see how much more time that will take per order to do that efficiently.

In a Restaurant I would use a Fresh-O-Matic it has been around for 50 years and will not make a mushy or soggy bun...Russ

Russ,

What is a Fresh-O-Matic and does anyone online sell them? Also, do you use a regular bun with it?

Thanks,
Will

Russ,

Just found the fresh-o-matic online. Still curious about the type of bun to use.

Can you steam the hot dog in the fresh-o-matic also?

Any good bun will work. The minute you take bread out of the oven it starts to go stale. Especially if it is fresh baked without preservitives. Steaming a bun will bring back the freshness required to open the bun without breaking the hindge. It will also in essence fluff up the bun and give it that spongy texture. The Fresh-o-Matic kind of pressure steams the bun without creating a soggy affect. Fresh made local Hot Dog buns are my favorite.In my area Servatii in Cincinnati makes a great one. In Bon Appetite or Gourmet Magazine a few years ago they actually rated the best Hot Dog Bun in the country. I am sure one of friends and Hot Dog addicts here at Roadfood remembers the article and will help you out...Russ

Thanks for the info Russ.

Does anyone know the article Russ is talking about? How about your own experience with buns; what bun have you found works best when steamed?

Also, does anyone know if you can steam a hot dog in the fresh-o-matic?

Thanks,
Will

To steam a bun in a regular steam table or cart, you're not going to have good results unless you use par-baked buns. These are buns that are partially baked and are finished off in the steamer rather quickly. They then seem to last forever in the steam without getting gummy or mushy. Vienna buns are the only ones I'm aware of that are par-baked, but there may be others. We tried locally made buns in our steam table, and within several minutes they were like a sopping wet sponge.

Have no experience with other types of steamers, but I know City Dog (defunct) in Charlotte used one.

quote:

Originally posted by kensandyeggo

To steam a bun in a regular steam table or cart, you're not going to have good results unless you use par-baked buns. These are buns that are partially baked and are finished off in the steamer rather quickly. They then seem to last forever in the steam without getting gummy or mushy. Vienna buns are the only ones I'm aware of that are par-baked, but there may be others. We tried locally made buns in our steam table, and within several minutes they were like a sopping wet sponge.

Have no experience with other types of steamers, but I know City Dog (defunct) in Charlotte used one.

I had the same problem with the buns getting mushy. After trying different things I was able to have them stay in the steamer longer without getting soggy.

You can lay a towel over the rack above the steamer and lay the buns on the towel. Keep an eye on them every couple minutes. This buys a little more time but was still too much time watching the buns for me. This is the best way other then the par baked system.

This is what I do now. I put a towel over the steam tray and lay the whole bag of buns down on the towel(buns still in the bag). I then cut the top and sides of the bag with little slits or holes. Then you can lay another bag on top of the first bag and open the whole end up so the steam works its way in the front of the bag. You stil have to watch them but not nearly that much.