Johnny Dogs

My mom found this recipe for quirky hot dogs over 40 years ago. Along the way my family started calling them “Johnny Dogs”, in honor of my dad taking over the responsibilities for making them in large batches.

I googled stuffed hot dogs and found many variations, but one item most of them had in common was being wrapped in bacon. Why slap a piece of fatty bacon around an already pressed-together mystery meat? It’s like wrapping bacon around Spam. Some of you do that, don’t you. We don’t judge here. At least not too harshly.

We would make dozens of these, wrap them in foil, and freeze them. It’s nice to have a quick semi-homemade meal in the freezer. Plus, my mom liked to warm these up in the oven to toast the buns. I like a soft bun so I take it out of the foil and wrap it in a paper towel.

I had left over wieners from making sauerkraut the other night so I’m only making five stuffed dogs tonight.

In a bowl, add chopped onions, black olives, and shredded cheddar. 

Yeah, black olives. It’s the strangest thing to add to a hot dog, but there you go. The combination is really delicious. Try and and you’ll see. I like a little more onion and black olives than cheese, but you make the proportions the way you like them. As much as I L-O-V-E jalapeno peppers, I don’t think it would taste good in this recipe, but you should try it!

On top of all the chopped goodness add a big healthy squirt of mustard.

 I know many of you like to use ketchup on hot dogs, and I’ve tried it before and it’s ok, my preference is mustard. Just try one stuffed dog with mustard and then you can make the rest with ketchup. You might like the combination. My handsome husband likes ketchup on his hot dogs and my youngest daughter likes mustard and ketchup mixed. To each his own.

Stir all this mixture together. 

Take each wiener and slice it lengthwise, but not in half.

What you are seeing is a red wiener. I don’t know why, but my family prefers red wieners. I don’t know if it’s the look or the taste but I gravitate to them in the store like an ant to sugar. You can use the bun length kind, turkey ones, or the ones that plump when cooked. You call, you’re the cook.

Using a tablespoon, stuff the mixture in each wiener. Stuff, stuff, stuff. The more the merrier. 

Put each wiener in a bun and wrap in foil. Even if you don’t heat it up in the oven, the foil will keep the stuffed dog cozy in the confines of the freezer.

After you try this, change it up to suit you. I’ve heard of people who like Mayo on their dogs. You could add relish, Tobasco, or anything your little heart desires. 

Let me know what you think and what you changed.

Happy Cooking!

Johnny Dogs

1 Lg pkg of Red Wieners

Pks of hot dog Buns

1 Lg Onion, chopped

2 Lg cans Black Olives, chopped

1 Lb Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1/3 C Mustard

Lot of Foil

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except wieners. You may have to adjust the amounts according to what you prefer. I don’t think you can make them too cheesy so add more cheese if you want to.

Take one uncooked wiener and slice it lengthwise without cutting it in half. Using a spoon stuff the mixture in the middle of the wiener. Put in a hot dog bun and wrap with foil.

If you want to eat a few fresh, cook in the microwave on medium heat for about 1 & 1/2 minutes. If frozen, unwrap the hot dog from the foil and I like to wrap them in a damp paper towel before heating them in the microwave on low for about 2-3 minutes. My mom liked the buns crusty so she would put the hot dogs wrapped in foil in the oven on 350 for about 20 minutes.