Cast Iron Chili Dog Caserole

   Have you ever just wanted to take a chili dog to the next level, but weren't just sure how?

      

 

         Well strap in to your seat, cause it just happened. How could you go wrong with chili, cheddar cheese, provolone, sauerkraut, and fried hot dogs. Where the hell was this when I was a kid.

 

  Ingredients:

- 8 all beef franks
- 8 hot dogbuns
- 1/4 cup diced red onions
- 1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini
- 1 quarter pound melted butter
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (give-or-take)
- 4 slices of provolone
- 11/2 cups sauerkraut
- 2 TBLS garlic
- 1 TBLS salt
- 1/4 cup diced green onions
- 3 cups of preferred hotdog chili sauce (I home make mine, but to each there own)
- 2 cups South Beach mustard sauce
- olive oil

      Start by taking the 8 hotdog buns, and cutting them into 1/2 inch cubes. I prefer potato buns, but any kind will work. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the cubed buns into a large mixing bowl, Slowly fold in 1/2 pound of butter. Season with salt, garlic powder, and cayenne to taste. Place in the oven, stir often, and cook until well toasted. pull out croutons and allow to cool

      Place hotdogs on the cutting board and slice hotdogs at a bias angle.

Fully coat the bottom of a 10 inch skillet generously with olive oil. Heat skillet to a medium high heat, and add hotdogs. Sauté dogs until hotdogs are fully cooked. They should have a nice char-fried texture to them. Place cooked hotdogs on dry paper towels to absorb excess grease.


       Heat up sauerkraut, and chili sauce. If you don't have time to make chili the traditional way, consider using a chili start-up kit as apposed to canned sauce. I also recommend emulsifying the chili in the blender. This allows you to break down all the components, and truly makes it the sauce required for the dish.
   
        Cover the bottom of a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet with croutons, and set remaining croutons to the side. Place hotdogs over croutons, covering consistently. With a soon drizzle and spread South Beach mustard sauce over hotdogs, making sure to achieve total coverage.
Add a thin layer of chili sauce over the casserole, and layer diced onions, pepperoncini, and sauerkraut. Pour a generous am out of chili sauce over the top. spread cheddar cheese fully covering the dish, and place 4 slices of provolone. baked in oven at 350 degrees until cheese is fully melted.

        Place remaining croutons in a blender, and blend into breadcrumbs. When its time to pull the casserole out of the oven , sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top along with the green onions. Allow the casserole to rest for about ten minutes, and cut like a pie, serve it up, and enjoy!

    Just in case you where wondering about the South Beach mustard sauce, here's the recipe.Take 2 cups of mayo, mix with 3/4cups mustard, and 1/4 cup of pickle juice. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne powder. Mix well, and pow... you got sauce!