Pickled Sliced Cucumber

Hotdogs are Copenhagen’s street food. It was the first and the only one for many years. We have a nickname for a hotdog stand: “Restaurant Cold Feet”.

Growing up in the 1970s, having a hotdog was a treat. The sheer excitement of choosing between ketchup, mustard, rmoulade, or all together. Then the choice between raw or fried onions? And did you want it with or without pickled sliced cucumber? I always had fried onions, and the cucumbers were the absolute best for me. They made the hotdog perfect.

I remember mostly having homemade hotdogs at special occasions, and often at birthday parties. We would buy thin sausages at the butcher and bake the buns ourselves. It was good for parties and perfect with beer, and also great for dinner. When I made them for my kids, I would always serve them with a red cabbage salad. It is still a combination that works for me.
For the fried onions:
Makes about 500g
onions 750g, finely sliced
plain flour 50g
sea salt 1 tbsp, plus more to finish
vegetable oil 500ml to 1 litre, flavourless, for deep frying

For the remoulade:
carrot 1, finely sliced
celeriac 120g, peeled and finely chopped
sea salt
cucumber ½, deseeded and cut into tiny dice
mayonnaise 50ml
red onion ½ tsp, finely grated
medium curry powder 1 tsp
English mustard powder ½ tsp
lemon juice 1 tsp
capers 2 tbsp, drained, rinsed and chopped