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New England Style Hot Dog Rolls

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gracoman View Drop Down
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    Posted: 14 August 2016 at 10:13
As a New England transplant I am forever having things shipped to my adopted home from there.  Some things necessary, some not, but my somewhat recent purchase of a USA Pan New England Style Hot Dog Pan has joined the ranks of things that will have to be pried from my cold dead hands.  

It arrived several weeks ago and I've been playing with it ever since trying it out with several hot dog roll recipes.  Yes a roll, not a bun.  The ubiquitous side split hot dog bun may be fine for peasants but some of us know a better way ;)  I originally bought this pan for lobster and clam rolls (no self respecting New Englander would eat a lobster salad or fried clams out if anything else and the reasoning behind that will become clear as you read on) but these rolls  are so outrageously good I may never eat a store bought side loader  again.  The New England style hot dog roll is a top loader that stands up on a flat bottom and is delicious enough to eat on its own.   Try that with a tasteless, chalky, store bought side loader

A bit of history from New England Today:

New England-Style Hot Dog Rolls

 With a toasted, buttery outside and a soft inside, top-loading New England-style hot dog rolls are arguably some of the best buns in the world.
Okay, maybe that’s being a little self-congratulatory, but really, what has greater potential to deliver something delicious on a hot New England summer day? The rolls are a perfect vehicle for grilled hot dogs topped with your favorite condiments, but they’re also the preferred roll for fresh Maine lobster rolls and fried clam rolls — two coastal New England classics.

Funny enough, it was actually fried clams (not hot dogs) that led to the top-sliced roll’s creation sometime in the 1940’s. A 2013 Boston Globe article reported that the Maine-based bakery J.J. Nissen debuted the roll at the request of Howard Johnson’s, the Massachusetts-based roadside motel and restaurant chain giant that peppered the American landscape during the 1960s and 1970s. HoJo’s needed a bun that could hold its signature clam strips without tipping over, and J.J. Nissen’s creation was not only stable, but had flat cut sides that toasted up beautifully when buttered. The traditional “hinge-style” hot dog bun didn’t come along until the 1950s.

The restaurant is credited with introducing the new style of bun to the country, where it became somewhat of a novelty, but here in New England, the roll became the roll of choice for hot dogs (aka frankfurters), lobster rolls, and clam rolls.

Strictly speaking a pan is not required to make hot dog rolls but it does make things a bit easier and more uniform. My USA Pan New England Style Hot Dog Roll pan is a thing of beauty.  It is a heavy weight commercial baking pan with a non stick coating that is awesome enough for me to buy new cake pans from USA Pan.  I'm very impressed with this pan.  The hot dog rolls bake evenly and just fall out of it without even a hint of sticking. 



These are buttery rolls so we need to start with the right ingredients


After a few trials, I wound up discarding the recommended recipe and procedure for these hot dog rolls and put them together a bit differently by rolling them
individually and placing in the pan's troughs for a second rise before baking



Each time I use this pan I get a little better at it.  Still working on shaping but I'm almost there.









These rolls have flat sides that can be buttered and toasted in a pan like a grilled cheese sandwich before loading. And they have flat bottoms so they stand up without any of that fall over nonsense.



Dogs in buttery New England Style Top Loading Hot Dog Rolls fully dressed.  
Tis a bit of heaven on Earth.  Lobster rolls... here I come

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Hoser View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 August 2016 at 04:57
Nice work G-man!
Absolutely perfect new england style buns....we'll be having some tonight with grilled Saugy franks.
Great for lobster rolls as well.Clap
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pitrow View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 August 2016 at 10:53
Never heard of new england style rolls, but they look out of this world! I wonder why they haven't become the standard instead of the crappy hot dog buns everyone uses. Definitely something I'd like to try
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 August 2016 at 17:03
      These absolutely look like perfect hotdog/sausage buns.  I'll have to give the a try...thanks so much for posting!

   Dan
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 August 2016 at 08:00
I didn't know the ubiquitous hinge style side split buns even existed until I was a young teen.  I knew Dave would be all over this but for folks living in other regions of the country these rolls are unknown.  They are a piece of Americana that I had hoped to shed some light on.

Yes, they are excellent hot dog rolls and the homemade ones are really outstanding.  Especially when buttered and toasted as is how I remember them always being served but Lobster and clam rolls are the main reason I bought the pan.  I don't usually go in for one trick equipment but I just had to do this one.

Ahhhh, nostalgia.  And let's not forget HoJo's with the bright orange roof, simple Simon, and however many different flavors of ice cream they claimed to serve along with those Fried Clam Strip rolls.

Everyone I've introduced these rolls to really like them.  They are good enough to eat on their own.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pitrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 August 2016 at 09:19
stop! you're making me drool all over my keyboard. 
Mike
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 August 2016 at 14:58
You're making me miss HoJos. They had fantastic vanilla and peppermint stick ice cream.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Melissa Mead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 August 2016 at 15:00
Hm. I should be passing through Lake George in a couple of weeks: http://www.hojoland.com/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 August 2016 at 07:03
One of the last two HoJo's in existence.  The restaurant in Bangor Maine being the second and I believe their days are numbered.
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