8 Creative Hot Dog Recipes

When the theme, hot dogs, was announced for this week, contestants posed two interesting questions. The first was, "If we're making a hot dog (as in with a bun), do we have to use franks or can we use our favorite sausage?" Not wanting to curtail any creative juices, we said, "Nope, the sky's the limit. Use whatever your heart desires." Hence, Tyler Sullivan made her hot dog with sweet Italian sausage.

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The second question was, "If we're using franks, do they have to sit inside of a bun?" Nope! Which is why we ended up with fantastically creative recipes like Judith Hannemann's Polynesian Hot Dogs Recipe. Not a bun in sight, and it might be just what some people are looking for. Hannemann is a member of the Culinary Content Network and author of the blog The Midnight Baker.

The winning prize, however, goes to Emma Laperruque, staff writer for the Cook channel, who created a Reuben Dog that is aimed squarely at the indecisive eaters out there; how many times have you been torn between a delicious Reuben sandwich and a juicy grilled hot dog? Problem solved.

All of the recipes featured here can be made at home for about $20 or less, excluding the cost of small amounts of basic ingredients such as butter, oil, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and other dried herbs and spices.

Will Budiaman is the Recipe editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @WillBudiaman.