Dogo Sonorense de Hermosillo

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy flat-top comal or 12-inch cast iron skillet
• •Tongs for rolling the bacon-wrapped franks
• •Steamer basket or covered pot for softening the bolillos
• •Three squeeze bottles for the mayo, mustard, and salsa de tomate

Instructions

1. 1

   Wrap the franks in bacon

   Lay each frankfurter on the cutting board and spiral a strip of thin-cut bacon around it from end to end, overlapping just slightly so the bacon stays put as it cooks. No toothpicks. The bacon shrinks onto the frank as it renders and seals itself. Use thin bacon, not the thick American slab cut. Thick bacon will not crisp before the frank dries out.

2. 2

   Toree the chiles gueros

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium-high. Lay the whole chiles gueros on the dry surface and roll them around with tongs until the skin blisters in spots and turns from yellow to a softer translucent gold, about 4 to 6 minutes. A toreado is not a roasted chile and not a fried chile. It is a chile bruised on a hot surface until the heat wakes up. Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime and set aside. One chile guero per dogo, on the side. Asi se hace y punto.

   If you cannot find chile guero, the next closest is a fresh chile guero criollo or a small banana pepper. Do not substitute jalapeno. Sonora wants the yellow chile, not the green one.
3. 3

   Cook the bacon-wrapped franks

   Wipe the comal clean and add the lard or bacon drippings over medium heat. Lay the wrapped franks seam side down to set the bacon in place for the first 90 seconds. Then roll them around steadily for 8 to 10 minutes total, until the bacon is crackling and dark amber on every side and the frank is plumped and starting to split slightly. The fat that renders into the pan is what fries the bun in the next step. Do not pour it out.

4. 4

   Steam and toast the bolillos

   The Sonoran bolillo for a dogo is steamed soft, not crusty, with the inside warm and pliable. Wrap the split bolillos loosely in a damp cotton cloth and set them in a covered steamer basket or over a low pot of simmering water for 3 to 4 minutes until they soften. Then lay each one cut side down on the comal in the rendered fat for 30 seconds, just to warm and lightly toast the inside. Soft outside, slightly crisped where the beans will sit. That contrast is the point.

5. 5

   Build the bed of beans

   Open the warm bolillo. Spread a generous spoonful of frijoles puercos along the bottom of the split, edge to edge. The beans are the foundation of a dogo sonorense. They glue everything together and they soak up the bacon fat. Loose, not stiff. If your beans are stiff from the refrigerator, loosen them with a splash of bean broth or water on the comal before they go in.

6. 6

   Lay in the dog and dress it

   Press a hot bacon-wrapped frank into the bed of beans. Top with a stripe of diced tomato and a stripe of diced white onion straight down the length of the dog. Zigzag mayonnaise across the top, then mustard, then salsa de tomate. The three-stripe finish is the Hermosillo signature. If you are using cheese, scatter the grated queso Chihuahua over the hot frank before the cold toppings go on so it just melts at the edges.

   The order matters. Beans first, then frank, then the chopped vegetables, then the squeeze bottles. Anybody putting beans on top of the frank has not eaten one of these in Hermosillo.
7. 7

   Plate with the chile and the lime

   Set each dogo on a paper-lined plate or in a small basket the way the carretas do it. Rest a chile guero toreado across the top or on the side. Lime halves and a small dish of Maggi Jugo or salsa Huichol go on the table. Eat immediately, with both hands, leaning forward over the plate. The dogo sonorense is not a dignified sandwich. It is a Hermosillo street food and it is best eaten standing up at midnight.

Chef Tips

• •The bacon has to be thin. The thin-cut bacon sold for breakfast in Mexican supermarkets is the right product. Thick American bacon will not render fast enough and your frank will be dry before the bacon crisps.
• •Frijoles puercos means pinto beans cooked with manteca and often with chorizo, not American canned refried beans from a green can. If you are making them from scratch, simmer dried pintos with a quartered onion and garlic until tender, then mash them in lard with a little crumbled chorizo. La manteca es el sabor.
• •The bolillo for a dogo is steamed soft, not crusty. If your bolillo has gone hard, wrap it in a damp cloth and steam it for a few minutes before you split it. A crusty roll fights the soft beans and the soft frank. The textures have to match.
• •Salsa de tomate in Mexico means a sweet tomato condiment, not the spicy salsa you put on tacos. Use Del Fuerte or another Mexican brand made with cane sugar. American high-fructose ketchup tastes wrong on a dogo and a Hermosillo cook will tell you so.

Advance Preparation

• •Frijoles puercos can be made up to three days ahead and reheated with a splash of water or broth to loosen them. They are better on the second day.
• •The bacon-wrapped franks can be assembled in the morning, refrigerated on a tray, and cooked to order in the evening.
• •The chiles gueros can be toreado up to two hours before serving and held at room temperature with their salt and lime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)