Delicious Bacon Big Boys – Vintage Hot Dog Sandwich Recipe

  

If you have been reading me for any length of time you will all know that I really love vintage recipes. I also happen to really love hot dogs.  This recipe which I am sharing with you today combines both of those loves in a most delicious way.

I watch this girl on a YouTube channel called Cooking the Books.  She was cooking recipes from a BH & G cookbook the other week, entitled Cooking for Two, which was originally published back in 1968.  These Bacon Big Boys were one of the recipes that she cooked. They looked delicious.

 

I actually have that book myself. It was part of a series of books that the Better Homes and Gardens put out in the late 1960's early 1970's.  I had started collecting all of them when I was in High School and continued on until I got married.  These were pretty much the only cookbooks I had when I was a very young woman. 

I had to leave them all in the U.K. when I moved back to Canada several years ago, but have managed to collect a few of them again since then.  Mostly just the volumes which were my favorites, and this was one of them.

 

Hot dogs were something that we had at least once a week when I was growing up. Not only were they economical, but they were something we all loved.  Sometimes my mother would make what she called "Wieners and Chips."  Home fried French Fries, cooked in hot fat with the wieners.  I loved the way the wieners got all crispy and golden brown in the hot fat. This was a real favorite.

As we got older, and mom went back to work, Friday nights became hot dog nights. We always had hotdogs for supper on Friday nights. Mom had an old electric grill that she would cook them in. She would spread the buns with butter, always soft sided split tops, and grill them until toasty brown. And then she would slit the wieners almost all the way through, open them open like a book and grill them until they were toasty brown.  No hotdog ever tasted better than those!

This version of hot sandwich, hot dog I am sharing with you today is a hearty one.  It is a real belly buster.  You have a crispy roll, filled with mustard, cheese, and two wieners, wrapped in bacon and then roasted until the bacon gets all crisp and the cheese melts all gooey and ooey.  If you like hot dogs, be prepared to fall in love with these!

   INGREDIENTS NEEDED

TO MAKE BACON BIG BOYS

There is nothing too out of the ordinary needed here.  Simple ingredients put together in a most delicious way!

• 2 large French rolls
• prepared mustard (I used Dijon)
• 4 slices sharp natural cheddar cheese
• 4 frankfurters (I used all beef hotdogs)
• 6 to 8 slices of streaky bacon

To serve:

• sliced pickles or potato chips

 

If you cannot get French Rolls, feel free to substitute another type of bun. I used Dempsters Signature Gold Sausage Buns.  The main criteria is that they are large enough to hold all of the fillings, and sturdy enough to hold together while eating them. You don't want them to fall apart in people's hands.

I used Schneiders All Beef Frankfurters. The regular sized ones, not the juicy jumbos. Those would be far too large.

The original recipe called simply for prepared mustard. I find it a bit too harsh so used Dijon which gives you a small amount of heat but has a nice mustard flavor without being to vinegary.

You can use any brand of streaky smoked bacon. I sure do miss the dry cured streaky bacon I could get in the U.K. If I could get that here, that is what I would use.

 

HOW 

TO MAKE

BACON BIG BOYS 

It really isn't rocket science.  Wrapping the bacon around them can be a bit fiddly. Just make sure that the ends of the bacon strips end up on the underside, which will help to keep them in place.  

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a lipped baking tray with aluminum foil and place a rack on top. (Preheating is important for this recipe in order to ensure that everything cooks through and the bacon crisps up nicely. The rack also means that air can circulate around the hotdogs helping to really crisp up that bacon.)
2. Split the rolls in half horizontally. Spread mustard on both cut sides. (The original recipe specified only the top. I thought the recipe would benefit from it being on both the top and the bottom.)
3. Arrange two cheese slices and two frankfurters on the bottom halves of both. Place the tops on to cover. (I cut the cheese slices in half on the diagonal and layered them on the bottom halves of the buns.)
4. Wrap three to four slices of bacon, spiral fashion, around each bun, securing with toothpicks if necessary. (You can stretch the bacon slightly to make it fit properly. Toothpicks certainly come in handy for keeping the bacon in place. Don't forget to remove them when you go to serve.)
5. Place top side down on the rack on the baking sheet. (This allows the bacon on the bottom of the buns to cook.)
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Flip over and bake for a further 5 to 8 minutes longer, until the bacon is crisp, the cheese has melted, and the frankfurters are heated through.
7. Serve hot with pickles or potato chips. (I chose bread and butter pickles!)

 

TASTY VARIATIONS 

These were not included in the recipe, but are simply things which I felt would make great additions.

• Add some chopped raw onion beneath the layer of the cheese. This adds a lovely hint of sharpness.
• If you are not serving with pickles, you could also add a layer of pickles beneath the cheese prior to cooking.
• You could use Honey Mustard or Bold and Spicy Mustard to up the flavors.
• You can use any kind of cheese which has good melting properties. Swiss cheese would work well, especially with Honey Mustard.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

DO I NEED TO USE A FRENCH ROLL?

Not at all. I did not have any in the house the day I made these and so I used a premium gold top sausage roll.  You only need to use a roll which can comfortably hold all of the ingredients.

MUST I USE STREAKY BACON?

Yes. Streaky bacon is integral to the recipe and wraps around the stuffed rolls perfectly. Any other kind of bacon would not do so.

DO I NEED TO USE SHARP NATURAL CHEDDAR CHEESE?

No, you can use any cheese which you enjoy and which has good melting properties.

CAN THESE BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?

Certainly. You can do everything up to the point of actually cooking them ahead of time. Put them together and then onto a place. Cover with plastic cling film and then store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.

 

A FEW OTHER 

HOT DOG RECIPES

TO ENJOY

We love hotdogs in my family. Here are a few other recipes which we also enjoy!

CHILI CHEESE DOG BOATS - Toasty buns, hollowed out to make a pocket which gets filled with gooey melty cheese, chili and a frankfurter. Perfect for kids' parties, back yard get togethers or simple suppers. These always go down a real treat!

AIR FRYER HOT DOGS - Quick and easy hot dogs, done in the air fryer.  The buns are buttery and crisp. The frankfurters get perfectly cooked. Topped with a quantity of cheese and crispy French fried onions, these are always popular!  Quantities are for one, but can easily be multiplied to make however many you want!

Yield: 2 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Bacon Big Boys

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 16 MinTotal time: 26 Min

Hearty, man-sized sandwiches. Deliciously easy to make as well. A real man-pleaser. Recipe makes two, but can easily be multiplied to feed more!

Ingredients

• 2 large French rolls
• prepared mustard (I used Dijon)
• 4 slices sharp natural cheddar cheese
• 4 frankfurters (I used all beef hotdogs)
• 6 to 8 slices of streaky bacon

To serve:

• sliced pickles or potato chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a lipped baking tray with aluminum foil and place a rack on top.
2. Split the rolls in half horizontally. Spread mustard on both cut sides.
3. Arrange two cheese slices and two frankfurters on the bottom halves of both. Place the tops on to cover.
4. Wrap three to four slices of bacon, spiral fashion, around each bun, securing with toothpicks if necessary.
5. Place top side down on the rack on the baking sheet.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Flip over and bake for a further 5 to 8 minutes longer, until the bacon is crisp, the cheese has melted and the frankfurters are heated through.
7. Serve hot with pickles or potato chips.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.

 

Thanks for visiting! Do come again!! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right-hand side of the screen.