This summer, we’ve been on our grilling A-game. It was a long, hard winter at our Boston office, and we’ve been celebrating by spending as much time out of the house as we can. We’ve covered the best cheeseburgers, the best veggie burgers, the best BBQ sides, even the best way to grill with cheese. But we’re not done yet: today we’ve got decadently cheesy hot dogs.
We like a little spice with our hot dogs, so why not start with some jalapeños? We were impressed with these jalapeño popper-inspired mac ‘n’ cheese brats. Made with cream cheese and cheddar cheese and topped with breadcrumbs(!), it’s like your favorite appetizer, but better. (Cooking with kids? Try this plain cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese dog for spice-averse eaters.) Perhaps you prefer corn dogs to the traditional bun. Make an upscale version with these jalapeño pretzel dogs and cheddar-beer dipping sauce. How Sweet Eats blogger Jessica sums it up pretty succinctly: “I added some crushed dried jalapeño to the pretzel dough which made it seriously outrageous. The perfect amount of heat. You can add some freshly grated cheese too but I, of course, went the beer cheese dipping route. Life is nothing without dip.” We couldn’t agree more.
If spice isn’t your thing, how does some bacon sound? (Yeah, that’s what we thought.) Make a big statement with this simple preparation: stuff the dog with the shredded cheese of your choice, wrap with bacon, and grill. Still not enough? Just add everything in your kitchen on top of the dog, like this loaded cheddar hot dog. Topped with mushroom, caramelized onion, garlic, cheddar, and—you guessed it—bacon, you’ll only need one of these bad boys to fill you up.
Maybe all of this is old news to you. We’ve all seen cheese and bacon hot dogs before, after all. Mix things up and try a Seattle cream cheese hot dog, topped with sweet onions. Or maybe a Sriracha hot dog topped with blue cheese and hard boiled eggs will suit your fancy. That’s something we never would have thought of, but it sure sounds good!
All of the above are pretty quick meals, but if you’re really short on time and need that cheesy hot dog fix, grill up a sausage with cheese ground right in. That’s what we call an extremely cheesy dog.
Photo by Taste and Tell
Alicia Hahn
Alicia Hahn excels at eating and enjoys writing, crosswords, and cooking (preferably with cheese). Originally from San Francisco, she moved to Boston for school and fell in love with the city (despite an annual campaign against winter). Her favorite place to be is the farmers’ market, where she finds weird and exciting ingredients to make or break her next meal.
