A few weeks ago, I had to go out of town for a convention, and I told my accomplice that when I returned, I would cook him anything he wanted. His request? Hot dogs. Really? I write for a food blog and will cook anything (at least once) in order to stretch my skills and get a story, and all he wants is a hot dog. I get points for finding a man that is easy to please for sure, but at the same time, a hot dog doesn’t really push the culinary envelope.
So I set out to make one that does. I decided early on that this little project would have to include bacon, because let’s be serious, I use it in everything but dessert (stay tuned for me to figure that out one day). Then I decided I was also going to stuff this dog. This involved me actually putting some thought into this project, because how on earth was I going to stuff anything into a little hot dog weenie? Well, I decided to use a beef sausage link because they are much bigger, but still pretty much taste like a hot dog. Then I cut a little pocket into it.
After that I used some smoked provolone that I tore into little strips to stuff the hot dog with. I used provolone #1 for the smokey flavor and #2 because it’s a firmer cheese that won’t melt super fast. This would be a disaster with something like Velveeta. Then I wrapped the hot dogs in bacon and used toothpicks to hold it in place. I put them in the pan along with some chopped onions, and let the bacon do its thing. And by do it’s thing, I mean make everything taste amazing!
The bacon didn’t get super crispy all the way around, and towards the end of the cooking process I took the toothpicks out so I could get it a little more brown all over. Then when they were ready I put them on a whole wheat bun, covered them in hot dog chili, and then topped them with those onions that had been sweating it out in bacon fat. 
Celebrate National Hot Dog Night on July 17th with your own delicious variation of this classic summer food!
Friday, July 16th, 2010, 8:05 pm | 
Out of the frying pan | 
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