Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way–I’m Kate and could probably be classified as a foodie. And I like hot dogs.
People are always surprised when I tell them I like hot dogs. It started when I was a teenager and people would be like, “Ew, you’re eating that??” And it’s true, some hot dogs are super gross (we shan’t talk about those bright red specimens), but there are really delicious hot dogs out there. If there’s ever a food product to spend a little extra money on, this is it. All-beef hot dogs are a great start, and kosher is even better. If you’re gonna do the dogs, I recommend Hebrew National, Nathan’s, or Oscar Mayer Selects Angus Hot Dogs.
These Food Truck Hot Dogs are old school, like something your grandma would make, but in a good way, not like in a Meat Jello Mold kind of way. They remind me a lot of J-Dawgs in Utah. If you’re feeding a crowd, this is an easy way to feed a ton of people–you can pop them in a Crock Pot and have them ready for a party later or you can simmer these in less than 30 minutes for a quick dinner on the run (plus you can add 2-3 more packages of hot dogs to one batch of sauce than the recipe calls for). I once had a party where I made these for the kids and Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches (which are always a huge hit) for the grown-ups, Guess what everybody ate? The hot dogs.
The awesome news is that these are super easy. For the sauce, you’ll need apple juice, an onion, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
See this chili sauce?
That’s what you want–it’s usually near the ketchup in the grocery store; it’s not spicy at all. Yes, people have emailed us before and said that they’ve used Sriracha or other Asian chili sauces in recipes that call for this kind of chili sauce. And they were sad.
instructions
In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Drain the bacon on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the pan. Add the onion and garlicto the drippings and saute until the onions are tender and fragrant. Side note: onions and garlic cooking in bacon drippings is one of the most swoon-worthy smells ever.
Place the chili sauce, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, crumbled bacon, and apple juice in the pan and bring to a boil. Add the hot dogs and cook for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the hot dogs are hot. Either serve immediately or transfer to a slow cooker set to the low setting. Serve with shredded cheese and chopped onions, drizzled with extra sauce..
Food Truck Hot Dogs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon
- 1 onion, medium minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bottle chili sauce like Heinz, not like Sriracha
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup apple juice
- 1 8-pack high-quality beef hot dogs like Hebrew National I also recommend Nathan's, or Oscar Mayer Angus Selects. You can actually add up to 2-3 packages without altering the sauce at all!
- 8 hot dog buns or more if you are adding more hot dogs
- desired toppings like shredded cheese, chopped onions, and the sauce the hot dogs cook in
Instructions
- In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Drain the bacon on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the pan.
- Add the onion and garlic to the drippings and saute until the onions are tender and fragrant. Add the chili sauce, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, crumbled bacon, and apple juice and bring to a boil.
- Add the hot dogs, reduce heat, and cook for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the hot dogs are hot.
- Either serve immediately or transfer to a slow cooker set to the low setting. Serve with shredded cheese and chopped onions.
Notes
- To make this even quicker, plan to make these hot dogs with another recipe that calls for bacon earlier in the week. Reserve the drippings and 3 slices of bacon for use in this recipe.
- Nutritional information does not include use of toppings.
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
The saucy hot dogs are even saucier if they are scored barber pole style before heating in the sauce. Yummy! Love the Hebrew National dogs.
Normally I’m not a big fan of hot dogs, but my kids love them so I decided to make these tonight. They were SO good! Everyone snarfed them down. Even now, hours later, my house still smells like the sauce. In fact, it’s making me want to sneak to the fridge and have another one. I won’t. But I want to.
You both did an amazing job at TOFW today. Love you guys! I totally think we’d be BFFs in real life. I love my new OBB cookbook.
These remind me of the hot dogs I ate in Brazil. Down there a hot dog is much more than what they are here. Thanks.
I was just talking to a friend yesterday about Brazilian hot dogs and she didn’t believe me when I told her all of the things you top on a hot dog down there! If I ever post a recipe for Brazilian hot dots, you have to promise me you’ll comment because I’m pretty sure it will freak everyone else out, haha!
I can already see the comments. You are right. Brazil has a very unique and tasty way of making hot dogs and hamburgers (X-Todo).
When I had my blog, I felt the same way about posting recipes like this. Your blog is very balanced on all different types of meals for a family. Never doubt yourself. You run a great blog and your first cookbook was the first cookbook I bought my oldest son when he moved out on his own. He has lost about 60 lbs eating better with your recipes and our family ones. The next one should be a Christmas present. This looks like another winner especially for watching football and I am sending it his way right now.
Hi, a question for you. How much sauce does this make? Like if I was going to make this for a crowd (like 50 people) do I really need 6 or 7 bottles of hot sauce? I have to feed our robotics team (students and mentors) and this sounds perfect! Thanks!
Hot dogs are a great food to feed a large crowd. Always looking for new ways to ‘dress’ them up!
Hot dog party! Hope this is as good as it looks.
I love those hot dogs! Sodium Nitrate is one of my migraine triggers so I wasn’t able to eat hot dogs for a long time. When these came out I ate a hot dog a day for a week! The sauce looks so yummy. I can’t wait to try it.
It is kind of like you are the naughty shoulder angel and sara is the good shoulder angel this week. Sad to say that I feel more susceptible to your enticings that hers.
This is sooo true
Haha, we pretty much trade off in our roles as naughty and nice angels to keep a good balance around here! Just watch- this next week I’m the naughty one!