Bacon Chili Cheese Dogs
Hot dogs are great. Bacon Chili Dogs are awesome. Start off by a making a bacon-based chili that you pile on top of your favorite hot dog for a feast!
Ingredients
4 slices Bacon, Chopped
1 medium Onion, Chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 tbsp TOMATO PASTE
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1-1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
Kosher Salt, to taste
4 All-Beef Hot Dogs
4 Hot Dog Rolls
Butter, for toasting the rolls
sour cream, for topping
Jalapeño, thinly sliced, for topping
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preparation
When ready to cook start the Traeger according to grill instructions. Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and preheat, lid closed 10-15 minutes.
Put the bacon in a saucepan and cook on the Traeger for about 20 minutes or until the fat is rendered. Pour out all of the bacon grease except for 1 tablespoon.
Add in the chopped onion and cook until they’re translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the ground beef and minced garlic and cook until the ground beef is brown, breaking the meat up with a spoon and stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes more.
Drain off most of the grease, return to heat and add tomato paste. Cook 2-3 minutes until the color turns from bright red to rust.
Add tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg and mustard and simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and more pepper, if needed.
While the chili is cooking, throw on the hot dogs to get some nice grill marks.
After the chili and dogs are done, remove them from the grill and put the buttered buns on to get lightly toasted.
Put together your chili dogs, slathering them with the bacon chili and finishing with a heap of cheddar cheese, sour cream and jalapeños. Enjoy!
Recipe and photo from Traeger.
