Every Friday night in our home when I was growing up was Hot Dog night. Without fail. My mom made the best hotdogs in the world. They were so delicious that all of our friends wanted to be invited to Hot Dog Night.
She used top split, soft sided buns. They are called New England Hot Dog Buns I believe. She would butter the soft sides and then pop them into her sandwich/waffle grill and toast them until they were golden brown on both sides.
Once the buns were done she would keep them warm in a low oven while she cooked the weiners. She used a sharp knife and split the weiners almost all the way through, lengthwise, opening the up like a book.
These would then be placed into the hot grill and toasted until they were golden brown on both sides, ready to pop into those toasted buns. My but they were some good, served hot with chopped raw onion, ketchup, mustard and relish.
We never had anything else with them. Just the hotdogs. We never minded at all. She would wrap each one in a sheet of folded paper towel to help keep them intact while we were eating them. I can tell you, nothing on earth tasted better than those paper towel wrapped hot dogs!
These are not them, but they are also very good. I adapted this Chili Cheese Dog Boat Recipe from one I found on Tasty. That is a site that specializes in over the top delicious recipes.
Their recipe made 8 servings. I cut it in half to make only 4. Even this was too many for me on my own, but I am wrapping the extra's up in aluminum foil individually and popping them into a big air tight zip lock baggie so that I can take one out as and when the craving hits.
These were, as promised, very Tasty! They are knife and fork dogs though, unless you want to get really messy! I think they would be a real family pleaser, or a really great snack to serve for teen parties, or men's game nights! Quick and easy to make. Friday night hot dog nights just got even tastier!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHILI CHEESE DOG BOATS
Pretty much every day store cupboard ingredients. Simple and yet delicious. This is a great recipe to have up your sleeve when you are feeling less than inspired!
- 4 hotdog buns
- 1 TBS butter, melted (15g)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 TBS dried parsley (plus more to garnish)
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces (215g) chili with or without beans
- 4 all beef hotdogs (frankfurters)
I used the hotdog buns that are baked in my local grocery store. They were called Texas Style Hot Dog Buns and were not split. Its important that they are not split as you will be cutting a boat shape into them.
I used processed cheddar cheese. I buy the Kraft slices here in Canada that are called Ultra Cheddar Cheese Slices. They taste more cheesy and less processed. I would equate the to American Cheese Slices. You can of course use real cheddar if you wish!
I used a good quality canned chili without beans. It worked out very well. Sometimes I do have homemade chili in the freezer, but today I didn't. If you have homemade chili by all means use that. In fact this would be a great recipe to use when you have leftover chili which needs using up!
I used Schneiders all-beef hotdogs. Just the regular sized ones, not the juicy jumbos. Those, in my opinion, would be far too large. In the U.K. use the Herta type of frankfurters that you can find in the sandwich meat section of the chiller cabinet at the shops. I would never use canned or bottled frankfurters in brine.
Costco also sells some very nice all beef frankfurters/hotdogs. Again do not use the foot longs or jumbo ones.
HOW TO MAKE CHILI CHEESE DOG BOATS
Surprisingly simple to make. I have put together a pictorial tutorial above which should clear up anything that might seem confusing! (hopefully) Follow the photos from the upper left down and around to the right.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Spray a shallow casserole dish(7 by 11 inches) with some nonstick spray.
Keep your hotdog buns joined together. Using a sharp knife and keeping a nice border around the edge, cut a rectangle into each bun. Punch the rectangle down into the bun to compress. You should have a nice boat shape left.
Melt the butter and mix together with the garlic and parsley. Brush the inside of each bread boat with this mixture. Toast in the preheated oven for 5 minutes.
Place a slice of cheese into each bun. Top each with a portion of the chili. Cut some diagonal slashes into the hot dogs and place one into each bun on top of the chili. Spoon the remainder of the chili over top of the hotdogs, dividing it equally amongst the buns. (I slashed my hotdogs so that the flavors of the chili would get right down into them.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and started to brown and the chili is bubbling. Garnish with parsley. Cut in between the connected buns to serve. Serve hot.
These were hot-diggity-dog delicious! Very easy to make as well. They only look complicated. Surprisingly filling, one of these went down a real treat with some salad on the side!
I used tinned chili and can only imagine how good they would taste with homemade chili. These would be great for game nights or teen parties. I highly recommend!
If you are a fan of hotdogs, you might also enjoy these tasty dishes which use them!
ROASTED VEGGIE HOT DOG HASH - This is a delicious sheet pan supper for two. It is also very easy on the pocket book. With the cost of food these days, every little helps! I like to serve this tasty combination of roasted potatoes, veggies and hotdogs with some baked beans to round things out!
POTATO STUFFED FRANKFURTERS - Here is a wonderful way of preparing hotdogs with grown up flavors that I think are quite, quite delicious. I usually buy the large dinner-sized sized frankfurters for this one. I split them down the middle and then cover them with a moist bread and potato stuffing. I then bake them until the stuffing is golden brown and slightly crisped on the outside, and the franks are slightly caramelized on their edges. Very tasty!
Yield: 4
Chili Cheese Dog Boats
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Fun and filled with flavor! Crispy edged hot dog buns, filled with melted cheese and topped with plenty of chili with a hot dog nestled inside. Kids will love these, teens and toddlers! Men too!
Ingredients
- 4 hotdog buns
- 1 TBS butter, melted (15g)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 TBS dried parsley (plus more to garnish)
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces (215g) chili with or without beans
- 4 all beef hotdogs (frankfurters)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Spray a shallow casserole dish(7 by 11 inches) with some nonstick spray.
- Keep your hotdog buns joined together. Using a sharp knife and keeping a nice border around the edge, cut a rectangle into each bun. Punch the rectangle down into the bun to compress. You should have a nice boat shape left.
- Melt the butter and mix together with the garlic and parsley. Brush the inside of each bread boat with this mixture. Toast in the preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Place a slice of cheese into each bun. Top each with a portion of the chili. Cut some diagonal slashes into the hot dogs and place one into each bun on top of the chili. Spoon the remainder of the chili over top of the hotdogs, dividing it equally amongst the buns.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and started to brown and the chili is bubbling.
- Garnish with parsley. Cut in between the connected buns to serve. Serve hot.
All rights reserved The English Kitchen
Thank you for visiting! Do come again!
Marie, you make the BEST hot dog recipes! I'm with you, I love a good char-cooked hot dog.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Elaine! I hope you will try these and that you like them! xo
Delete