In New Jersey’s frankfurter patois, a ripper is a hot dog deep-fried long enough for its skin to tear. The best known purveyor of rippers—and likely the place where the nickname originated—is Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, where ripper variations include a cremator, which is cooked long enough to shrivel and turn chewy, a weller, which also is well-done, but not to such an extreme, and an in-and-outer, which is hoisted from the boiling oil after only a short spell, thus remaining pink and plump. Rutt’s Hut rippers are approximately 2-to-1 beef-to-pork and are offered with a proprietary relish that includes mustard, onions, carrots, and cabbage.
At left, a naked ripper. Right, a ripper topped with Rutt’s Hut’s proprietary relish.