I 've been fascinated with the whole carrot dog vegan hot dog sub idea. I went so far as to make baby carrot "beanie weenies" a couple of years ago. If you missed that it was a crock pot full of baby carrots slathered in whatever sauce you like for your little smokies or beanie weenies and slow cooked until the sauce caramelizes a bit and the carrots are soft but with just enough tooth feel to fool the mind.
But recipes for the real deal vegan carrot dogs are more complicated, involving ingredients and soaking and brineing. But on Pinterest I happened to just see a pin for brats cooked in beer and garlic and I wondered. What if I cooked carrots in beer and garlic? So I bought a big old cheap 40 ounce beer and dumped it in a crock pot with peeled full size carrots cut into hot dog lengths. I sliced up about 6 cloves of garlic and threw in a teaspoon of salt. Then I put them on high for 5 hours. I cooked them until they were fork tender but still had a little resistance. With dill relish and mustard these were amazing and satisfying and guilt free. I even charred one over a camp fire and the one pictured was under the broiler and got nice grill marks so these are winners on several levels. (And because no meat touched the beer and garlic, I am going to do something with it, probably a beer cheesy soup or sauce with cauliflower or potatoes. I'll post it when I get er done.
I 've been fascinated with the whole carrot dog vegan hot dog sub idea. I went so far as to make baby carrot "beanie weenies" a couple of years ago. If you missed that it was a crock pot full of baby carrots slathered in whatever sauce you like for your little smokies or beanie weenies and slow cooked until the sauce caramelizes a bit and the carrots are soft but with just enough tooth feel to fool the mind. 
But recipes for the real deal vegan carrot dogs are more complicated, involving ingredients and soaking and brineing. But on Pinterest I happened to just see a pin for brats cooked in beer and garlic and I wondered. What if I cooked carrots in beer and garlic? So I bought a big old cheap 40 ounce beer and dumped it in a crock pot with peeled full size carrots cut into hot dog lengths. I sliced up about 6 cloves of garlic and threw in a teaspoon of salt. Then I put them on high for 5 hours. I cooked them until they were fork tender but still had a little resistance. With dill relish and mustard these were amazing and satisfying and guilt free. I even charred one over a camp fire and the one pictured was under the broiler and got nice grill marks so these are winners on several levels. (And because no meat touched the beer and garlic, I am going to do something with it, probably a beer cheesy soup or sauce with cauliflower or potatoes. I'll post it when I get er done. 
