BurgerDog

Would you like a hamburger or a hot dog? The answer to that question seems to be one of my biggest dilemmas in life. After all, the burgers look good, yet I haven't had a hot dog in a while. Maybe I'll have one of each. Which will I choose should I want seconds? I can't take this kind of pressure! There must be a solution.

I believe I have found a way to remedy this insane indecisiveness...the BurgerDog. It's the best of both worlds! A hamburger and a hot dog both on one bun? Modern technology has now made this possible.

The beauty of the BurgerDog is its diversity. There are no rules for what you put on it. Like ketchup? That's fine. Mustard or barbecue sauce is also acceptable. Why, I even wrap them in bacon. It's all up to your individual taste.

I'll even show you how to take a bacon wrapped BurgerDog and make an appetizer out of it. What a versatile creature this BurgerDog is!

Prepare Your Meat

One pound of hamburger will require 10 hot dogs, which are also a pound. No fancy pants wieners here! Just regular cheap hot dogs will do.

With a sharp knife, carefully slice the hot dogs in half, lengthwise. Then cut the halves in half, quartering them.

It takes about a quarter of a cup of loosely packed hamburger per hot dog. Begin by packing the hamburger tight into a meatball. Roll the meatball out to match the size of your hot dogs, both in diameter and length. Should your length be to long, simply trim it to size with a sharp knife.

Let's Build

This part gets a bit tricky, but hang in there! It will be worth it.

Lightly embed the first slice of hot dog into the hamburger roll. Turn over and repeat with the second hot dog slice. The "points" of the hot dog pieces will push into the hamburger. Repeat with the other two hot dog slices.

At some point during the assembly, you will have done all you can to get the hot dog slices into position. Using both hands, begin squeezing the entire BurgerDog as you rotate it, repositioning the hot dog slices if necessary. Continue to squeeze and rotate until the hot dog pieces are securely embedded in the hamburger and you have given it a nice hot dog-like shape.

Would You Like Bacon with That BurgerDog?

If you've decided you want bacon on your BurgerDog, which I highly recommend, now is the time to do it.

One full slice of bacon fits a BurgerDog perfectly. On a slight angle, begin at one end of the BurgerDog and continue to wrap until you've reached the other end. You can secure the ends of the bacon with a toothpick if you wish, although I've found that placing it on the grill carefully is sufficient. Once they begin cooking, the bacon sticks to itself.

Let's Cook 'em!

Start a medium to medium-high fire. About 325-degrees F works perfect. If using charcoal, slide your coals off to one side of the grill. We want to use the indirect method to cook the BurgerDogs.

Once your grill is up to temperature, cook for 20 minutes, rotating a quarter every 5 minutes.

If making bacon wrapped BurgerDogs, you may want to cook a little longer depending on how crisp you prefer your bacon. Continue to rotate at 5 minute intervals.