Dog Is My Co-pilot

My friends thought I was just goofing when I said I was planning to make hot dog rillettes. Or maybe they thought I was nuts.
Well, I am nuts. I'm mad, right?
I've been excited about taking leftover cooked meat and converting it into a rustic pate. It's just so easy and delicious.
But for a kick, I declared my intention of making dawg spread. Very Fourth of July, even if we were a couple of days late.
And? It's awesome. If you use the right hot dogs. More awesome than I could have guessed, because I was just goofing. Except I meant it.
I braised slices of dog in beer (beer! not champagne) with a handful of mirepoix for about 45 minutes, until the slices got puffy and juicy. Then I ran the meat through the Cuisinart with grated orange rind, a smoodge of mustard and a pinch of chile powder. Sludged this mess with melted lard, and refrigerated it overnight.
(You're covering your ears! La-la-la-la. You don't want to hear this! Well, ha, ha. You lose.)
The cooked dogs whirred into a rough, granular, state. It was not, as one friend suggested, returning tube steaks into their gooshy, pre-casing state. No, it was a whole new thing.
And I'd serve this to company. You would NEVER guess it was made from hot dogs (if you used the right hot dogs to begin with).
Best of all: the miniature hot dog buns. More on that soon. Ohmagah.