Why This Recipe Works

Sonoran dogs are a style of hot dog that originated in Hermosillo (the capital city of the northwestern Mexican state Sonora) and are now exceptionally popular in Tucson, as well as other cities in Arizona. Sonoran-style hot dogs start with a bacon-wrapped dog. To get the bacon to stay in place, we made sure the bacon wrapping started and ended on the same side of the dog and then cooked the hot dogs with the bacon seam sides down to seal them before browning them all over. We cooked canned pinto beans in the rendered bacon fat, adding some canning liquid and mashing some of the beans to make them extra creamy. We piled the dogs and beans into bolillos, the Mexican rolls traditionally used for these hot dogs, and then topped them with the rest of the standard Sonoran dog toppings: tomatoes, onions, charred jalapeño salsa, yellow mustard, and a zigzag of mayonnaise. For a salsa packed with the flavor of jalapeños, we used 10 whole chiles. We charred them under the broiler with onion and garlic and then processed them with lime juice and cilantro for a tangy, spicy salsa with a thick texture perfect for topping our Sonoran Hot Dogs (or anything, really).

Before You Begin

Bolillos go stale quickly; you can refresh stale rolls by misting them lightly with water and baking them in a 300-degree oven for 5 minutes. Look for bolillos in well-stocked supermarkets or Latin American bakeries; if you can't find them, substitute soft white Italian-style sub rolls or soft supermarket Italian or French bread cut into 7-inch lengths. Store-bought salsa verde can be substituted for our jalapeño salsa. Squeeze bottles of mustard and mayonnaise help achieve their signature stripes and zigzags, respectively. Do not use thick-cut bacon here; it won't crisp as well or render as much fat as thin-cut.

Instructions

for the jalapeño salsa

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Toss 10 halved and seeded jalapeños; 1 small onion, sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds; 2 peeled garlic cloves; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; and ½ teaspoon salt together on rimmed baking sheet. Flip jalapeños skin side up. Broil until vegetables are well charred, 12 to 14 minutes. Let vegetables cool on sheet for 10 minutes.

Process jalapeño mixture, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons water, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup chopped cilantro and pulse until combined, about 5 pulses. Season with salt to taste. (Salsa can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before using.)

for the hot dogs

Wrap 4 pork-and-beef hot dogs with 4 slices bacon, 1 slice per hot dog, spiraling from end to end, and stretching and overlapping slightly until hot dog is completely wrapped and bacon seams end up on same side.

Arrange hot dogs with bacon seam side down in 10-inch nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat without moving hot dogs until bacon is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Continue to cook until bacon is evenly browned all over, turning hot dogs as needed, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate.

Add 1 can pinto beans plus 2 tablespoons canning liquid to fat remaining in skillet. Cook over medium heat, coarsely mashing about one-third of beans with spatula until heated through and bean mixture is creamy, about 3 minutes.

Cut slit along top of each of 4 bolillos, stopping just short of ends, and gently pry rolls open. Arrange rolls on platter, cut sides up. Place hot dogs in rolls. Distribute beans evenly among rolls. Top with ¼ cup finely chopped tomatoes and ¼ cup finely chopped onion. Spoon 1 tablespoon salsa along length of each hot dog (reserve remaining salsa for another use). Top with stripe of yellow mustard and zigzag of mayonnaise. Serve.