“We want to bring fast food back to soul food by using pure ingredients” explains Tijs co-founder of Bulls & Dogs. With their surprising flavour combinations Bulls and Dogs give the classic soggy hot dog a complete make-over.
photo by Jöran Maaswinkel
From a Christmas gift to a story
“Gerda” was the name of the meat grinder which Thijs, co-founder of the Dutch Bulls & Dogs found underneath the Christmas tree in 2013. Making sausages was something he always wanted to try for himself. With the meat grinder and a book on how to make sausages the journey started.
When he got a catering contract to make Fancy Dutch Hot dogs, it all came together and Bulls and Dogs had found its mission:
“Creating a new kind of fast food snack in order to give guests a complete new experience of eating a hot dog.”
photo by Jöran Maaswinkel
A little bit healthy & a little bit rock ‘n roll
“Fast casual” concepts are exploding into the scene. They marry the age-old need to eat on the run to the much newer consumer demand for healthier and more qualitative options.
It is at this intersection of higher quality food and the need to be quick that “Fast casual” food has found its niche.
To fulfill this customer need, Bulls and Dogs works with German Pretzel buns and homemade spiced-up sausages — pork, lamb, beef, vegetarian – cabbage salad, sauces and surprising toppings.
Bulls & Dogs hot dog pairings
Bulls and Dogs comes up with original hot dogs on a regular basis. Not only the topping combinations are exciting, but also the sausages are flavoured with wild spice combos.
For their ‘Funky Fresh hot dog’ they created a lemon and thyme sausage combined with tzaziki and spring onion.
Or what about their ‘Hot dog of the Month’ with cranberry sauce, leek and bacon? ‘The Coffee Dog’ — a sausage spiced with instant coffee and a coffee-cranberry mayonnaise – was created for the Amsterdam Coffee festival.
A lavender-honey sausage or a cumin-onion sausage with cheddar sauce or even a vegetarian Dog with popcorn and humus has been on their menu.
At Barrio Cantina — an international foodtruck festival in Ghent – I’ve tasted and approved their Luxurious Dog with truffle and hazelnuts.
Pork sausage – mushroom – truffle – hazelnut – green onion
The pork sausage shares it’s malty, nutty and roasted aromas with the hazelnut. The earthy and potato-like flavors of the sausage we can find back in the mushrooms and the truffles. Green onion adds some freshness to the recipe.
You can find Bulls & Dogs at the Foodhallen in Amsterdam or when you’re lucky the Bulls & Dogs truck stops by in your neighborhood.
Discover more hot dog pairings with Foodpairing®
At the Foodpairing® kitchens we remixed the classic hot dog by creating a chicken sausage with apple-pumpkin ketchup. Find the recipe here.