Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs are my recipe contribution to 4th of July celebrations. Even though I’m in Australia, I’ll be having a BBQ to celebrate!
It doesn’t take much for me to get enthused about get togethers with my fabulous friends. Even last Friday when I was out with the girls and we were talking about our annual Christmas party (yes – 6 months out), I instantly raised my hand and chirped “I’ll do the food!”.
Whether it’s a game, a birthday, baby shower, hen’s night or out of town visitor, I’ll jump on any opportunity to host a get together. 🙂
4th of July is one such get together. Born in Japan, raised in Australia, I’ve travelled throughout the US a handful of times and have very fond memories. From NYC to Washington, Miami to LA, San Fran, Texas and New Orleans, I had so so much fun (and food) everywhere I visited.
So I’ve celebrated 4th of July almost every year since I first visited the US and this year is no exception. It is actually winter in Sydney, but our winter is very mild. We will grill outdoors and I’ll be making hot dogs, ribs, potato salad, corn on the cob and I guess I have to provide a green salad too.
Not just any old hot dogs though – these Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs! Smothered with the most awesome ever cheese sauce (that stays gorgeously creamy even when it’s cool and it’s NOT made with plastic cheese!).
Oh! Before I forget – few photos of how to roll the hot dogs up in bacon. Super simple – just place the hot dog on the bacon on an angle, then roll it and secure the top and bottom with toothpicks that have been soaked in water. If you are cooking them on the outdoor grill, then the toothpicks won’t get in the way of browning the bacon all over because they kind of poke down in between the slats.
But if you are cooking this on the flat plate side of the BBQ or on the stove, then use scissors to trim the toothpicks so they don’t poke out. Makes it much easier to evenly brown the bacon all over. 🙂
And a little close up of the cheese sauce for you…it’s SO good. It’s based on the Nachos Cheese Dip and Sauce that I shared previously. It’s special because it’s not made with plastic cheese and yet it stays creamy even when it cools down. Here’s a picture of it when it’s at room temperature. See how it’s nice and creamy still? Almost like the consistency of mayonnaise. So it’s perfect for using as a dolloping sauce for these hot dogs. 🙂
In reality, I dollop a LOT more cheese sauce on these hot dogs. If I used as much as I normally do, you wouldn’t be able to see anything else – including (probably) the bun!!! So for the purposes of the photos only, I used restraint. Extreme restraint.
– Nagi x
PS You know what happened two seconds after I snapped the photo, don’t you? Yes, I grabbed one of those hot dogs, piled on more cheese sauce. And grinned happily as I savoured every single bite. Can’t wait to make these for my friends next weekend!!
Anything Bacon Wrapped is a GOOD THING!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce
- 2½ cups grated cheddar or tasty cheese , or any other good melting cheese
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (corn flour)
- 1 can evaporated milk (375g / 12oz)
- ½ tsp onion powder (optional - adds extra flavour)
- ½ tsp garlic powder (optional - adds extra flavour)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 to 2 tbsp milk
Hot dogs
- 6 hot dogs (American style - Note 1)
- 6 strips of streaky bacon , long enough to wrap each hot dog
- 12 to othpicks , soaked in water for 30 minutes
- 4 brown onions , peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp oil
- 6 soft hot dog buns
Bacon for Garnish
- 1/4 cup bacon , diced
Instructions
Cheese Sauce
- Toss together the cheese and cornstarch in a small saucepan.
- Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally for the first couple of minutes then frequently as the cheese melts. Whisk until the Cheese Sauce is smooth (about 5 minutes).
- Remove from the stove and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk vigorously every 5 minutes or so to blend the "skin" that forms on the surface into the Cheese Sauce.
- Once it is at room temperature, use the milk to make the consistency suitable for dolloping onto the hot dogs.
Hot Dogs
- Trim the edges of the bacon so they wrap neatly without overlapping.
- Lay a strip of bacon on a work surface. Place a hot dog on the bacon on the diagonal. Then roll up the hot dog in bacon. Use a toothpick to secure each end. (See photo below)
- If you are cooking the hot dogs on the stove or flat iron side of the BBQ, use scissors to trim the toothpicks so they aren't sticking out. (Note 2)
- Brush the grill side with oil and drizzle the remaining oil on the flat iron side of the BBQ. Then heat on medium high (or do this in a frypan over medium high on the stove).
- On the flat iron side, add the onion and cook until dark golden brown. Cook the extra Bacon for Garnish at the same time (if using).
- On the grill side, cook the hot dogs, turning until nicely browned all over.
- Partially cut the hot dog buns. Place a bacon wrapped hot dog in the bun, top with onion, a generous amount of Cheese Sauce and Bacon for Garnish (if using).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Would this cheese sauce also be a good match for a philly cheese steak? I haven’t been able to find any good cheese sauce recipes for the kind of cheeses we have in Australia but this one looks like it would be lovely!
Will see how I go and let you know Nagi!
Plumrose do a Skinless Hot Dog “American Style” – comes in a can not a vacuume sealed pack, but im guessing both types have heaps of preservatives!
Just made these for a quick dinner tonight and did them in the air fryer. What a game changer every thing worked perfectly even heated the buns in there as well. cheers for another winner Nagi
What can I use instead of Evaporated milk in the Hot Dog recipe ( used in cream sauce )
Here in the states I searched high and low for “American hotdogs” but couldn’t find them anywhere so I had to settle for hotdogs..😉😆
Hi Nagi,
Are they called American hotdogs at Cole’s/Woolies? I can only see footy franks, is that them?!😋
I’d rather the ones you can fry, like yours! Mmmmmm
Cheers!
Yes they are!
Sorry, yes they are footy franks or American dogs?!?☺ (cant see American…maybe just a Sydney thang?!)
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/49890/hans-hot-dogs-american 🙂
Stop looking!😉. I see what they are now. They’re out of stock and wouldnt show up online either,
Cheers!
I have been searching for a noteworthy beer cheese recipe for a week now and this recipe for the cheese sauce has THE perfect consistency. Do you think adding beer would ruin it? Is there some modifications to the ingredients that would have to happen in order to make it work?
Hi Brittany! I’m not sure!! I haven’t tried it with beer, sorry! 🙂
Nagi…I did not get a chance to comment on these because I was afraid to look at them while starting out the veganism…but OMG! These are fantastic!!! The cheese sauce! The Bacon!!! I will eventually most def be making these!
I just burst out into laughter when I read this! I did wonder when the veganism was starting after I saw your latest recipe. 🙂 Are you still on it? How long??
Lol! I am on it… I love it… I really do..I’m going to be hardcore vegan until Sunday which is 22 days…and then my goal is to be 80-90% plant based! I will do an updated post on what the results were and how I feel. But I’m pretty addicted… allergies are gone, 8 pounds are gone, 2% body fat gone and I have gained and insane amount of energy!
This looks too incredibly decadent to be true! Yum!
Thanks so much Kristen!
You gotta have hot dogs on the 4th!!! And these are incredible! My goodness, that cheese sauce looks heavenly… like I want to bathe in it! Oh if I only had a kitchen or even a grill by the 4th (our goods aren’t due to arrive until the 8th, ugh). Well… the summer is long and there will be plenty of bbq’s – this is a must-make this season!
So you’re having 4th of July at Hooters…?? 😉
Holy mother of YUMMMM! I’m pretty sure I would eat so many of those hot dogs that I’d need to be rolled away from the table lol 🙂 Pinning and making this soon!
You know, I just ate the hot dogs plain dunked in sauce!!! Couldn’t stop!! 🙂
Oh, love the look of that cheese sauce – adorn hot dogs – Nagi – wish I lived a bit , cos I would be at that party:-)
Especially cause if you were still here, you could literally just STROLL over!! 🙂
I totally understand your struggle as I am a cheese lover myself. I am unsure how you controlled yourself long enough to take these photos because I would have eaten them as soon as they were ready! haha. Needless to say, I am drooling over these and can’t wait to try. Your blog is so well put together and contains so many awe-inspiring recipes. Would you be interested in teaming up with Chicory and becoming a recipe partner?
According to teenagers bacon is its own food group! What a great celebration of the patriotic hotdog and with that melty cheese, oh my goodness!!! They don’t celebrate that holiday too much in Hong Kong but I plan on making my Cantonese neighbours very jealous by cooking your delicious dogs out on the BBQ this weekend. Sharing and pinning!
I burst out into laughter – SO TRUE! Teenager think bacon, chips, chocolate and all those healthy things are a separate food group, right? And veggies? What are they? 😉
I love the sound of that…mild winter! Having lived in New England most of my life, I don’t know what that is. One of these days I will permanently get to experience mild or no winters. This is spectacular! You sure know how to dress up a hot dog, Nagi!
And I can’t imagine a winter where it gets so cold you have to turn the heater on every day, let alone snow!! I’m honestly sitting here at my computer at 6 am with the porch doors open and NO heater!!!
Wow, I love these hot dogs wrapped in bacon, sounds delicious. But the thing I like the most about this post is the cheese sauce, it sounds delicious. I really need to try both the hot dogs and the cheese sauce.
Hi Dawn! Oooh, yes, I have to say that the sauce is FAB!! It’s based on my Nachos Cheese Dip which is just as fab!!! 🙂
I love that you’re going for a full fledged BBQ with all the trimmings in the middle of winter. Your lucky friends!! I’m seriously jealous. And now I know what to throw on my grill next weekend! BTW, I have to ask – what’s “hen’s night?” 🙂
OMG! This looks delish! My local costco (Adelaide) sells these awesome all pork hot dogs in the freezer which are delish!! Gonna try this for sure!
I didn’t know Costco sold hot dogs like these!! I’ll have to keep an eye out next time I go – thanks for the tip!! 🙂
Leave it up to Nagi to dress up a hod dog like it is about to get married. I don’t even eat hot dogs and I’m craving one now. Bad girl lol
Ha ha!! Well you know what I always say. Bacon and cheese makes everything better!! 🙂
Ha yes sometimes it’s hard to restrain for a photo when yuou would normally pile on that sauce. They look delicious indeed.
I know, right?? I just want to drown everything in sauce!!! (Which is how I eat it in real life!!)