Name: Hawaiian Hot Dog (Puka Dog-Inspired Recipe)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil; ¼ cup finely chopped onion ((about ½ a small onion)); ¼ cup finely chopped green pepper ((about ¼ of a pepper)); 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple; 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon lime zest; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ cup mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 2 to 3 garlic cloves (minced or crushed); Cayenne pepper (to taste (optional, for a spicy version)); 8 hot dog buns (toasted if desired); 8 hot dogs ((I prefer all beef hot dogs)); ¼ cup Aunty Liliko'i Passion Fruit Mustard or other mustard of your choice (or as needed)

Jump to Recipe

Hawaiian-style hot dogs are quite different from their mainland counterparts. At Puka Dog in Kauai, buns are stuffed with a melange of flavorful sauces including garlic lemon sauce, fruity mustard, and a variety of tropical relishes before finishing with a grilled polish sausage. Although the Puka Dog recipes are top secret, it’s easy to make these island-inspired copycat creations at home.

A Hawaiian hot dog topped with pineapple relish, garlic lemon sauce, and passion fruit mustard.

Puka Dog opened in Kauai in 2000. It’s had a few different locations over the years, but nowadays you can find it right across the beach at Poipu Beach Park on the south shore of Kauai.

Following a divorce of the couple that started the original brand, there is also an offshoot called Hula Dog, mostly found on Oahu but with franchised locations elsewhere. Their menus are similar with a few minor differences, but in the end you’ll still get the same structure and flavor profiles for their Hawaiian-style hot dogs.

One of the most notable characteristics of a Puka Dog is the preparation of the bun. The Hawaiian word puka means “hole,” which refers to the hole that’s created in the bun by spearing it with a special hot metal poker. It not only hollows out the bun, but toasts the inside which keeps the interior from getting soggy from the sauces.

You can aim to copy this assembly method, which makes these hot dogs so easy to eat on the go, a perfect meal at the beach! For an at home version, you can use a turkey baster or a bun driller to create a similar opening in your sandwich rolls. It won’t toast the inside, but it will still give you a similar experience to what you’ll get at Puka Dog.

That being said, I think it’s easier to use regular hot dog buns to assemble these in the absence of the poking and toasting contraptions they use at the restaurant. This way, you can also toast the inside of your buns if you so choose. You can still add all the wonderful island flavors that make Puka Dog so beloved by all.

A Hawaiian hot dog drizzled with toppings with a jar of passion fruit mustard behind it.

Garnishing Your Hawaiian-Style Hot Dog

In addition to their unique hollow bun, there are a variety of special sauces used to construct Puka Dogs. When ordering, you have quite a few choices, but I’ve included some basic options in the recipe which you could definitely tweak and build upon.

First comes the signature Garlic Lemon Sauce. You can select from several varieties with differing levels of spice. The version in the recipe below is a basic, non-spicy option, but you could definitely spice it up if you prefer.

Garlic Lemon Sauce (from mildest to spiciest)

Mild Original
Spicy Jalapeno
Hot Chili Pepper
Lava Habanero

Next, you’ll have your choice of one of six tropical relishes. This is where the Puka Dog is really transformed into whatever flavor profile you choose. The two most popular relish options at Puka Dog are their mango and pineapple flavors. For me, it’s pineapple all the way! Even though they’re called relishes, they are translucent and jammy (not chunky at all). The one I’m sharing is a riff on a pineapple relish, my version.

Tropical Relish

Kauai Special: Mango Relish
Pineapple Field: Pineapple Relish
Coconut Beach: Coconut Relish
Waimea Canyon: Banana Relish
Polihale Sunset: Papaya Relish
Na Pali Cruise: Star Fruit Relish

Finally, you can add Aunty Liliko'i tangy passion fruit mustard (this is produced directly in Kauai), or opt for classic yellow mustard or dijon mustard. You can also forgo the tropical relishes entirely for ketchup and/or sweet pickle relish instead.

Even Anthony Bourdain sampled a Puka Dog on his show No Reservations. Although skeptical at the onset, he fell in love with the unexpected yet harmonious combination of flavors. He picked mango relish. Which would you choose?

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for Hawaiian hot dogs on a light grey background.

Hot Dogs: Although they use Polish sausages at Puka Dog, I use all beef hot dogs with great results. The ones I've used here are Nathan's brand, but you can use your favorite.
Buns: If you decide to drill a hole into your buns, the Puka Dog way, you'll want to get sandwich rolls. Keep in mind that this will likely yield a higher ratio of bun to dog. You can also do what I do, just use regular hot dog buns! The ones pictured here are Martin's Long Roll Potato Rolls, but King's Hawaiian Hot Dog Buns would be great too!
Mustard: Aunty Liliko'i Passion Fruit Mustard can be expensive to buy online from the mainland, unless you tack it onto your Kauai Coffee Company order (I highly recommend their coffees)! If you can’t find it, you could use any other mustard you like, or try another tropical fruit-flavored mustard. You could also make your own fruity mustard by combining Dijon mustard with fruit puree, such as passion fruit, mango, guava, or any other tropical fruit you like.

Two Hawaiian hot dogs on a wooden board that says "serve with aloha."

How to make it

First, make the pineapple relish. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add finely chopped onion and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Finely chopped green pepper and onion cooked in a skillet.

Add canned crushed pineapple, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, fresh lime juice, sugar, lime zest, and salt.

Crushed pineapple, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and vinegar added to a skillet.

Continue to cook until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 7 minutes.

A combination of crushed pineapple, green pepper, onion, and seasonings in a skillet.

Pineapple relished cooked down into a soft homogenous mixture in a skillet.

Puree until smooth in a food processor or blender. Transfer to a bowl or a condiment bottle with a large opening for easy squeezing. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Next, make the Garlic Lemon Sauce. Combine mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, and minced or crushed garlic in a small mixing bowl.

Mayonnaise, crushed garlic and lemon juice in a small metal bowl.

Homemade garlic lemon sauce in a small metal bowl.

Add cayenne pepper to taste if you want a spicy version. Leave it in the bowl or transfer to a condiment bottle for easy squeezing. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Grill the hot dogs until cooked through, turning occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Alternatively for indoor cooking, cook in a 400°F (200°C) toaster oven for 10 minutes, turning occasionally for even cooking.

Place hot dogs into each bun and drizzle with each of the toppings. Enjoy!

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

A Hawaiian-style hot dog in a potato bun drizzled with tropical-inspired toppings.

Expert tips

Although some Hawaiian style hot dogs feature a much chunkier relish with bigger pieces of fruit, my goal is to mimic the relishes at Puka Dog a bit more closely (obviously it's not identical). Their relishes are all smooth and easy to squeeze or pump out for filling the buns. Therefore, I puree mine to make it relatively smooth, yet it's still quite thick and identifiable as pineapple.

Depending on how much sauce you put on each hot dog, chances are you will have extra. Although the recipe suggests 8 hot dogs, you can always make more hot dogs and still have enough sauce to garnish the rest! Otherwise, use the extra garlic lemon sauce for dipping fries or as a sandwich spread. Meanwhile, the remaining pineapple relish would be great served with chicken or pork.

To make actual copycat Puka Dogs with the hollowed out bun, use long sandwich rolls (not split) instead of hot dog buns, and use Polish sausages instead of hot dog. Then follow these assembly instructions. Keep in mind that the buns for real Puka Dogs also get toasted on the inside of their hole, which is not really possible to do for the home cook, but this method will get you close!

Hollow out the inside of the long sandwich rolls but poking them with a turkey baster or bun driller almost all the way to the other end, leaving the opposite end intact. Twist and wiggle the turkey baster as needed to make the opening big enough to fit your sauces and sausages.
Transfer all of your sauces into condiment bottles to make it easier to squeeze the different sauces into the hole. You could drizzle with a spoon as well but may have a bit less control.
To assemble, squeeze some passion fruit mustard, garlic lemon sauce, and pineapple relish into the cavity of each sandwich roll. Insert a cooked polish sausage and push it down to fit the opening.

Two Hawaiian hot dogs topped with pineapple relish, garlic lemon sauce, and passion fruit mustard.

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Hawaiian Hot Dog (Puka Dog Inspired Recipe)

Garnishing Your Hawaiian-Style Hot Dog

Ingredient notes

How to make it

Expert tips

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