The Meat Hook's Beef Hotdogs

The butchers at Williamsburg protein palace The Meat Hook are already known for their choice cuts and inventive sausages (green chorizo, anyone?). Now they've breathed new life into an old BBQ standby: the hotdog.

It took butchers Tom Mylan, Ben Turley and Brent Young a year to achieve their goal: crafting a dog that echoes the classic flavor and texture of a ballpark frank–only better.

Made with grass-fed beef from upstate Kinderhook Farm, the dogs are enriched with beef tallow and shot through with a top-secret spice blend (all they'll reveal is that it includes garlic, paprika and mustard powder). Each batch is then slowly wood-smoked before hitting the meat case.

One bite proves that these are no lowly links: They're supersmoky and intensely beefy, with a natural casing so snappy it nearly pops when you bite into it.

And now that the recipe has been perfected, the dogs–which were once an occasional offering–are finally a weekend staple. They go on sale on Friday (at $13 a pound) and are usually sold out by Sunday. Grill them for a quick five minutes, then pair with spicy mustard and an icy beer.

The Meat Hook, 100 Frost St. (between Leonard St. and Manhattan Ave.), Brooklyn; 718-349-5033 or the-meathook.com