I had the pleasure of coming up with 3 scrumptious hot dog recipes for National Hot Dog Day and wanted to share the delish! These are totally IMHO the 3 BEST hot dogs of the summer. So let’s start with a hot dog near and dear to my heart….
The HOTLANTA Dog: Hot Dog in a Garlic Bun with Fried Okra and Pimento Cheese drizzled with a Sweet Tea Sauce
There were 3 things I’d never tried before moving to Atlanta:
- Fried Okra
- Pimento Cheese
- Sweet Tea
Now, after nearly 10 years living in the Capital of the South, I’ve not only earned the right to slip y’all into conversation, I’ve tried and fallen in love with all three. Putting them together onto a hot dog? It’s perfect. It’s what they call “Slap Yo Momma” good down here!
I’m a huge fan of texture and a combination of salty and sweet. The crispiness of the okra, the creamy and salty mouth feel of the pimento (it’s pronounced puh-mennah by the way) cheese and the sweet of the tea sauce…. It’s a hot, sweet diggity dog!
To get some garlic flavor on the bun, (because who doesn’t love garlic bread??) brush some butter on the outside of the bun and sprinkle a little garlic salt on, then bake the bun in the oven at 350 for a few minutes to crisp up the outside.
Layer that bad boy with the fried okra, pimento cheese and a little drizzle of sweet tea heaven. For the sauce, take a couple cups of sweet tea, add 1/4 cup sugar, squeeze of lemon, pinch of salt and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Simmer and reduce until thickened to a syrupy consistency. Drizzle on top and get busy eatin’ y’all!
Pair the Hotlanta dog with Leffe Brun, which is a brown ale. It’s going to mellow the kick of the pimento cheese and the intensity of the okra.
Another city that has a special place in my heart is Baltimore, or as they say in Charm City, ‘Bawlmor, Hon!” Crab is a Maryland delicacy, so I came up with winner recipe:
The Charm City Dog: Hot Crab Dip, Old Bay candied bacon and topped it off with some crushed Old Bay potato chips on top for a little crunch. OMG.
Pair this dog with a Baltimore favorite, like a Golden Ale by Heavy Seas Beer. The lively hops will bring out the creamy, lusciousness of the crab dip and compliment the Old Bay flavor.
- 16oz lump crab, shells removed (or sub 2 cans canned crab)
- 1/4 sweet onion grated or finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 Tb worcestershire
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 8oz full fat cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 lemon squeezed
- dash of cayenne
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- sea salt to taste
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Hot Dogs
- Buns
- Crushed up Old Bay potato chips
- 1 package of center cut bacon
- brown sugar
- Old Bay
- Combine all ingredients and spread into a casserole dish.
- Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Spread bacon out on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle brown sugar all over bacon strips, pressing sugar into the bacon.
- Sprinkle Old Bay over the brown sugar.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Let cool and crumble onto hot dog.
- Layer how you like it-- I put the candied bacon inside the bun, then topped with the hot dog, crab dip and Old Bay chips crushed up.
The Nacho Mama’s Dog: This bad boy is layered with all of my favorite Nacho toppings— all of which can come right from your pantry! Black beans, Diced tomatoes, Chipotle peppers, Roasted or Fiesta style Corn, Pickled Jalapenos and some Nacho Cheese.
I drained the beans and added a couple Tablespoons of the adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers, a bit of chopped garlic, onion, chopped cilantro and a dash of chili powder and salt. Mix up the rest of the ingredients with some Nacho Cheese (shredded or queso dip) and slather the dog with spicy, creamy deliciousness! I always keep my pantry stocked with essential cans like this, so it’s convenient and makes prepping super easy. Plus, lots of people don’t know this, but any fruits and veggies that are canned are actually picked and canned at the peak of ripeness, sealing in flavor and nutrients. You can find out more info and dive into recipes on the Cans Get You Cooking site.
Pair the Nacho Mama’s Hot Dog with an American Lager like Rolling Rock. Lagers are the most versatile of all beers– the sweet, crisp flavor will go with practically anything! The Let’s Grab a Beer campaign has so many great details about beer pairings, entertaining and beer facts.
Check out the video here:
*This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own.