Trailergating Blog

Bacon Burger Dogs (BBD’s)

The name of this dish really says it all.  How can you go wrong with combining Bacon with Hamburger and a great Hot Dog?  I came across this manly combination on YouTube and you can find multiple versions of this video on the net.  As soon as I saw it I could hardly wait to put it to the test.

You will need:

• Regular size Hot Dogs (8 pack)
• Ground Beef, 80/20 is preferred (1.5-2lbs)
• Regular cut Bacon (16 slices)
• Favorite Hamburger Seasoning (Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning)
• Good Beer
• 

Notes:

1. The hot dogs should be a regular size hot dog,  you are going to wrap the dog twice with additional protein so no need to get the extra large hotdogs.
2. You need a good fat content in the Ground Beef to help with the adhesion and molding around the dog, I recommend the 80/20
3. Regular cut bacon will wrap the best and cook thoroughly before drying out the ground beef (Not Thick Cut)
4. As Always Use FRESH ingredients, Freezing the meat first never yields the best results.

Prep:

Your first two BBD’s will take the longest.  But after you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quick.

Make sure you are working with COLD ground beef, it forms and wraps around the dog much easier when it is cold.  A wooden surface such as a cutting board is best to use

Take a Large Handful of Hamburger and knead it in your hands compressing the ground beef fibers together and then flatten out the ball onto the cutting board making a sheet of hamburger approx. 1/4″ thick.  I ended up with a square around 10″ x 10″ and this is enough to roll 4 dogs with.  After you flatten out your ground beef, season it with your preferred Gourmet Burger seasoning.

With a knife cut the ground beef into a strip as wide as the hot dog and start to roll the beef around  your first Hot Dog.  As you get the first wrap around the hot dog, cut the beef with the knife. With your hands continue to form the beef into a nice blanket around the Dog.  Now take a strip of bacon and wrap it around the beef so that it all holds shape.  When wrapping the bacon be sure to spiral it like a barber pole (or candy cane stripes for the people who have never seen a barber pole).  I usually use two full strips of bacon, but if that is too long, use that knife and cut off the excess bacon.  (I strongly disagree with the description of “Excess Bacon” there never can be too much bacon)

I do suggest that you prep these in the comfort of your home kitchen.  put them in a good plastic container and keep them cold before taking them to the scene of the grill.

 

   

 

Grilling:

The Bacon Burger Dog’s require Indirect heat.  Indirect Heat is most commonly understood as “smoking” your meat.  But you don’t need a high end smoker to get the job done.  You can cook with indirect heat on a weber kettle, gas grill or a smoker.  Just light the fire on one side of the grill and have the opposite side with no heat/flame under the BBD’s.  You want a good temperature around 350 degrees.  On a gas grill this is going to be a medium-high to high setting on one side of the grill and leave the burners off on the meat side of the grill.  During cooking, rotate the dogs every 10-15 minutes to get more uniform cooking.  Especially if you’re using a gas grill.  The heat will be more intense for the dogs nearest the heat source, so move them and rotate them.  Now that the BBD’s are on the grill, drink the beer and watch your meat.

Cook the BBD’s for approx. 1 hour at 350 degrees (remember indirect heat so you don’t burn your bacon).  Anytime you are cooking ground beef you want to make sure you reach a safe meat temperature of 160 degrees.  Use a food probe to make sure you cook the meat to the safe temperature.

 

Eating:

Before you pull the Bacon Burger Dog’s off the grill you might want to add a little cheese to them.  A good cheddar is preferred, but any kind of cheese will work.  Another favorite is a pepper jack cheese.

Put these on a sturdy Hot Dog Bun.  I don’t suggest a  hoagie style bun because most people will not be able to their their mouth around it.  A regular hot dog bun is stretched to it’s max but will work just fine.  Add any condiment that you enjoy.  My favorite is mustard and sauerkraut.

When your guests first hear about the Bacon Burger Dogs they may respond with “oh that sounds awesome”  To my surprise, even the ones who didn’t jump for joy about the concept ended up loving the combination.  So don’t be scared to serve this to your tailgate crowd.  They will all be impressed with your Manly creation.