Finger food from the Merklinger or - pure hot dog enjoyment simply homemade

Ingredients (for 8 torches)

For the gherkins:

• 400 g mini cucumbers
• 150 ml white balsamic vinegar
• 75 ml water
• 15 g salt
• 75 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  

For the dough:

• 500 g wheat flour type 550
• 1/2 cube yeast
• 10 g salt
• 300 ml lukewarm water
• some flour for the work surface
  
  

For the fried onions:

• 8 shallots
• 1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  
  

For the cucumber and onion salsa:

• ½ Cucumber
• 1 small red onion
• 2 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt, pepper
• 1 fresh chili pepper (to taste)
  
  

In addition:

• 8 Vienna sausages
• 8 slices of Gouda
• 8 wooden skewers (30 cm)
  
  

Preferably the day before:

• water the wooden skewers
• Prepare the gherkins
  

For the Sweet and sour gherkins Wash the cucumbers and cut into thin slices. Place in a pan with the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil briefly (until the sugar has dissolved) and leave to cool. They taste very good if they are left to infuse overnight in the fridge. However, they should be allowed to cool and infuse for at least 2-4 hours.

The Wooden skewers soak in water overnight. 

Why should you water the wooden skewers?

• When heated, the water in the skewer evaporates and keeps the sausage juicy.
• The hot dog torches are easier to push off the spit later.

The next day:

For the Dough Dissolve the yeast cube in lukewarm water. Add the flour and salt and knead for approx. 10 minutes to form a homogeneous dough. Cover and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 hour. 

During this time the Cucumber and onion salsa manufacture.

For the Cucumber and onion salsa Wash the cucumber and cut into small cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion. Mix together with the remaining ingredients in a bowl. If you like it spicy, you can add finely chopped rings from a fresh chili pepper. Chill the salsa. 

Preparation:

Thread the Vienna sausages lengthwise onto the watered wooden skewers.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out the dough pieces with a rolling pin to a thickness of approx. ½ cm to form a long flatbread (or rather strips of dough).

Wrap a slice of Gouda around each sausage. Now hold the sausage with the cheese with one hand and with the other hand, starting from the top, wrap the dough around the whole thing in a spiral, slightly overlapping.
Cover and leave to rest for another 15-20 minutes.

During this time, heat the Merklinger to approx. 220°C.

For the Fried onions Now peel the shallots and cut into fine rings. Heat a cast iron pan with the oil in the Merklinger and fry the onions, stirring, until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

Place the torches directly on the firebrick and bake in the Merklinger at approx. 220°C top heat for approx. 25 minutes.

Now simply enjoy the torches straight from the skewer or use them to make hot dogs. Then simply pull out the skewer, cut open lengthwise and fill with the sweet and sour gherkins, cucumber and onion salsa and fried onions. (The sausage can't slip out 😉 )

Tip: If you like it fruity, you can mix finely diced apples, peaches etc. into the cucumber and onion salsa. 
You can also replace the Vienna sausages with Käsekrainer at any time. Then simply leave out the Gouda.