Aren’t these sausages the cutest things you’ve ever seen??? I see them packed into bentos all the time in the mangas I read, but I never thought they were actually possible to make. So, when I saw a step-by-step recipe for octopus sausages in my new favorite food-themed manga, I knew what my Halloween blog post would have to be.
These Hallo-weenies (ha!) are not only super cute, but also ridiculously easy to make. All you have to do is slice the ends off of a couple hot dogs, make six slits in the bottom, and brown the suckers in hot oil. As they cook, the little “legs” naturally start to curl, and when you turn the sausages to brown all sides, the legs bloom outwards in octopus-y fashion. Very cool.
Have a fun Halloween weekend, everyone!
- 6 hot dogs (or 12 cocktail-sized sausages)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 bamboo skewer
- Slice both ends off of your hot dogs, about 1-1/2 inch long.
- Take a knife, and make slits on the non-rounded end of each hot dog end. Turn your sausage so that the cut-end is facing up. Make one long horizontal slit across the cut end of the hot dog, then two equally-spaced slits perpendicular to the original slit. Click here, for a visual (bottom left side of the screen).
- Heat your oil on medium-low until tiny bubbles form on the surface.
- Start frying your octopus sausages by placing them sideways on the pan, turning them with chopsticks or metal tongs every 15 seconds or so. The legs will brown/curl and bloom outward very quickly. Repeat until all sausages are cooked. Set cooked sausages on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
- To make "eyes," use your bamboo skewer to poke two holes into each sausage above the "legs."
- Use a sharp, thin knife to carve a mouth below the eyes.
- Serve warm, with ketchup and mustard, or with rice and cooked veggies in a bento box.
For other great recipe ideas, click here.
What a brilliant idea!
Thanks!
This recipe is amazing and cute hey you should show your talent at America has talent to be honest if I were a judge I would hit the golden buzzer
Lol so cute and creative! Well done!
Thank you!
Adorable!
🙂
Very very cute! I think these would be fun year-round. The best part is they’re so simple to make.
Agreed! And, I bet kids would love them any time too 🙂
wow. this is the best thing I’ve seen in a while. squid ink ketchup, perhaps?
well done.
also…I think you may be my spirit animal
Haha, thanks!
hah! these are way too cute!
Thanks 🙂
These are at the same time kind of gross, but yet o so cute! I know that kids would love them and I would probably eat them too as I can never resist a hot dog.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
I know what you mean…I ended up eating the whole plateful and feeling sort of gross the whole time.
They are adorable; Love your blog; getting used to Recipe Card.
This is TOO cute!
Reminds me of the time I carved faces into all my cocktail sausages once, before cooking.
Is it just me, or did these cute little weenies (giggle) give anyone else a flashback to Oswald?
Cute! I see these all the time too, but I haven’t yet tried to make my own. I saw them in a bento cookbook and a few blogs. I happen to have some cocktail sausages at home. I should definitely try these out.
You should try it! They are super easy.
OMG – just the cutest things EVER!! 🙂
I just made these for my son, since I will be working late tonight I wont be here for dinner, so I made them early and he helped poke out the eyes, they came out amazing and had a great bonding time with my little guy, thank you so much,love it!!!
You don’t have to put these in oil. You can just put them in boiling water. 🙂
Good to know!
This is too cute! Do you have to cook the hotdogs or can you boil them?
These are adorable. I pinned them because I think that my readers would just adore making these for their kids. Keep up the good work!
Best,
Jaclyn, editor of AllFreeKidsCrafts