Recipe video above. A pan-fried or BBQ sausage smothered in chili sauce in a hot dog bun. Cracker of a recipe for summer BBQ's, gatherings with friends and game-day!My chili sauce is a copy-cat of the famous Ben's Chili Bowl half-smoke chili dogs in Washington DC. Love how their boldly spiced chili sauce is thick and almost "smooth", so it stays in the hot dog better. I replicated this by blitzing the chili a bit. Releases flavour, thickens the sauce. Win!Also, skip the cheap hot dog "footy franks". Do what Ben's does - use a good smoked sausage.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time3 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Course: BBQ, Main
Cuisine: American, Tex-Mex
Keyword: chili dogs, chili sauce for hot dogs
Servings: 6- 8 hot dogs
Calories: 761cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
Homemade chili powder (Note 1):
3tspsmoked paprika(sub plain paprika)
3tspcumin powder
1tspcayenne pepper, adjust to taste
1 1/2tspgarlic powder
1 1/2tsponion powder
1 1/2tsporegano
1/2tspmustard powder
1/2tspblack pepper
Chili sauce:
1tbspolive oil
2garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2onion, finely chopped
1/2red capsicum / bell pepper, finely chopped
500 g/1 lb ground beef / beef mince
1tbsptomato paste
400g / 14 ozcanned crushed tomato
2beef cubes(I like Oxo, easy to crumble, Note 2)
1 1/2cupswater
3/4tspcooking/kosher salt, plus more to taste
Chili dogs:
6good smoked sausages(kransky, bratwurst, half-smoke) or hot dogs of choice (Note 3)
6hot dog buns
1/2white onion, finely chopped
Yellow mustard(I use Heinz American mustard)
2cupsColby or Monterey Jack, shredded (or other cheese of choice)
Plain crinkle cut potato chips, optional side for serving (traditional!)
Sauté aromatics - Heat oil over medium high in a heavy based pot. Cook the onion, garlic and capsicum for 3 minutes.
Brown beef - Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw meat. Add tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
Sauce - Add the spices, tomato, water, crumbled beef cube and salt. Stir well.
Slow cook 3 hours - Bring the chili to a simmer then turn down to low, on a small burner. Put the lid partially on (to allow for sauce reduction). Simmer for 3 hours on low (goal: small bubble every now and then), stirring just to ensure the base doesn’t catch. OR put it in a 160°C/325°F oven for 3 hours (lid partially cracked).
Slow cooker (Note 4) - Reduce water to 3/4 cup. After chili comes to a simmer on the stove, transfer everything to a slow cooker then cook on low for 6 to 8 hours on low.
Thicken sauce - Remove 1 1/2 cups of the chili into a container so the head of a stick blender will be submerged under the chili. Then blitz until smooth (~ 15 seconds). Add the pureed sauce back in the pot and stir well.
Sauce goal - As you stir, the remaining beef bits should become quite fine (rather than bolognese type chunks) because the beef is so tender. If the beef bits are not as small as desired, use a potato masher in the pot - it won't take long. The chili sauce should be a thick sauce that mounds up a bit when you scoop it, not runny. (Note 5) Keep sauce warm.
Optional rest overnight - Allow the sauce to cool then refrigerate overnight. As with most slow-cooked stewy things, the flavour improves! Reheat on the stove before proceeding.
Chili dogs:
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
Grill/pan-fry - Preheat a pan with 1/2 tbsp oil (or the BBQ) on medium / medium high. Brown the stages all over until they are heated through (they are already cooked inside, it's just about heating/colour).
Assemble - Place hot dog buns on a tray. Stuff with a sausage, top with a squiggle of mustard and a sprinkle of onion. Spoon over a generous amount of warm chili sauce, top with cheese.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Traditionally with a mound of plain crinkle cut potato chips and an ice cold beer!
Notes
Servings note: Recipe realistically makes enough chili sauce for 8 hot dogs. But I just don't know how big your buns will be so prefer to err on the side of caution. Nobody wants to run out of chili sauce!1. Spice notes:
This blend of spices includes a homemade chili powder which I prefer to do because the flavour of store-bought chili powder mixes (in the US) vary from brand to brand.
Garlic powder and onion powder can be substituted with more of the other.
Cayenne pepper provides the spiciness (chili sauce is SUPPOSED to be a bit spicy!). This amount won't blow your head off but if you're concerned, hold some (or all) of it back and add right at the end, little by little.
Mustard powder - sub 1 tsp dijon mustard
2. Beef bouillon cubes / stock cubes have more flavour than plain salt. 3. Smoked sausages are my preference over economical hot dogs / "footy franks" - high proportion of fillers! Idea swiped from Ben's Chili Bowl, they use half-smokes (famous Washington smoked sausages).I use: smoked kransky's, bratwurst, bockwurst, "smoked wiener" or "continental franks". Available at German and other European shops, and large supermarkets (Australia). Even the common un-smoked kransky sold at most supermarket deli's is way better than the cheap hot dogs! Love my local German small-goods shop, Brot & Wurst (Narrabeen, Sydney), their Bockwurst is my favourite for chili dogs.4. Slow cooker note - While this recipe will work fine in a slow cooker, you just don't get the same caramelisation around the edges on the surface of the chili like you do with stove and oven cooking, which adds to flavour. I'd say it's 95% as good in a slow cooker! Oven and stove are just as good.5. Sauce - If your sauce isn't as thick as mine, just leave it on the stove on low, stirring regularly, until it reduces and thickens.