Wingin’ It: Stuffed Dogs to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers

Can you believe it? Season 5 of Wingin’ It! Where has the time gone? For any newcomers, here’s the premise. It’s hungry work being a fan of the Buffalo Bills. Every week of the regular season and postseason, Buffalo Rumblings brings you a recipe to try out with a “Buffalo” twist.

What exactly is a stuffed dog? It’s an old invention of mine, and I was seething earlier in the year when someone went viral on social media and made me second guess using this recipe. The clip in question is a gentleman who hollowed out his hot dog at a baseball game and used it as a straw. I felt there was a risk I might be accused of taking his idea and making it my own, but I’m here to tell you with my wife and kids as my witness that I’ve been hollowing out hot dogs for years. Might I suggest using a terrible towel to wipe away any cheesy messes?

Stuffed Dogs

Serves: You pick, easily customizable
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 40 min

Ingredients

Hot dogs, however many you need
¹⁄₂ cup or more of shredded cheddar cheese
Hot sauce
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Hot dog buns, enough for however many dogs you’re making

You’ll need: Large straw, small culinary funnel

1. Punch a hole through each hot dog using large straw.
2. Coat shredded cheese thoroughly with hot sauce in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle mixture with onion and garlic powder to taste; stir/mash together.
4. Set funnel into first hot dog. Place a spoonful of cheese/hot sauce mixture into funnel and force it into hot dog using a spoon. Fill cavity until cheese mixture becomes visible at other end. Repeat until all hot dogs are filled.
5. Cook prepared hot dogs. It’s your choice as to how to cook them, but I don’t recommend boiling. If you’re grilling or frying, aim for high heat to avoid the filling leaking out; remove and immediately serve on buns with additional condiments.

Wingin’ It Tips and Prep Gallery

Grid View

The first picture shows the amount of hot sauce I use. The cheese is completely wet, which helps it become a bit smoother to more easily fill the hot dogs. Next up you see the straw I used pushed through the dog and the core off to the side. The wider the hole you create, the more filling you can add, and the easier it all is to accomplish. Not gonna lie, this process can be a bit time consuming.

Next, I’m just proving to you that yes, I really did jam a funnel into a hot dog. Without it, filling the hot dog can be incredibly difficult. Plus, there’s a risk you won’t fill it as much as you think you did. If you’re worried about that happening, use the funnel on one end then flip it to work from the other end.

I thought another look at the final product was warranted, and that transitions to the last picture—which proves that there is indeed a ground-cheese mixture inside the hot dog. You can be pretty creative with fillings with these, and really the point this week is to demonstrate the idea rather an actual “recipe.”