Garlic Bread Hot Dogs With A Spicy Sweet Tomato Honey Mustard

With a little ingenuity and a dream, there's truly no shortage of ways to enjoy a humble hot dog. At least, that's the approach that recipe developer Patterson Watkins took with her garlic bread-wrapped hot dogs recipe, a sort of two-for-one special that combines classic franks with pizza dough-based garlic bread. The result is something of a lovechild between a classic hot dog and a pig in a blanket, and as Watkins aptly describes, "This recipe is one big pig wrapped in one tasty blanket."

Now, if you're anything like Watkins, then you're not necessarily finishing entire packs of hot dogs on the regular. But transform those weenies into garlic bread-wrapped hot dogs — and even better yet, ones served with a unique fresh tomato honey mustard dip inspired by pan con tomate — and that pack will be gone in a breeze. Watkins especially highlights the use of raw pizza dough as the garlic bread exterior, explaining that it "provides a nice bready chew without being too heavy (heavy like if you used puff pastry). The garlicky butter clings well to the dough and really permeates throughout with this nice blend of savory, aromatic, and buttery-sweet." The bright, tomatoey-fresh, and slightly twangy dip ties it altogether, making for the ultimate hot dog, pig in a blanket, garlic bread dipper — whatever you want to call it, it's a delicious app, snack, lunch, or light dinner truly like no other.

You'll start this recipe by whipping up the tomato honey mustard dip, which consists of Roma tomatoes, Dijon mustard, honey, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt. Then, the wrapped hot dogs don't require too many ingredients, and you'll start with raw pizza dough and the franks themselves. Although any hot dog brand will technically work here, Watkins opted for skinless ones, AKA those without any casings (which helps negate the risk of pulling an entire wiener out after the first bite). She also opted for longer "bun-length" dogs to get the most surface area to work with as possible. Ultimately, though, she recommends reaching for your favorite type or brand, but depending on what size you get, you may need more or less pizza dough for full coverage. 

A single beaten egg serves as an egg wash, while melted, salted butter, minced garlic, fresh parsley, and Parmesan cheese transform the pizza dough casings from plain bread to rich, buttery garlic bread.

Grate the tomatoes into a medium bowl. Discard the skins.

Add the mustard, honey, pepper flakes, and salt to the bowl.

Whisk to combine the dip, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you make the wrapped hot dogs.

Preheat the oven to 450 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment.

Roll the pizza dough portions into long ropes.

Wrap the dough ropes around the hot dogs and secure them with toothpicks.

Transfer the wrapped hot dogs to the prepared baking sheet, spreading them out evenly.

Poke the dough a few times with a toothpick to release any air bubbles.

Brush the wrapped hot dogs with egg wash and place them in the oven. Bake for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the melted butter, garlic, and parsley in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, generously slather the par-baked hot dogs with the garlic butter, and sprinkle them with Parmesan.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly before removing the toothpicks and serving. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.

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When it comes to the dip for this recipe, Watkins didn't just decide to mix Roma tomatoes into honey mustard and call it a day. She was initially inspired by pan con tomate, which is a popular Spanish tapas or snack that simply calls for freshly-grated tomato on top of toast (the toast will often be rubbed with garlic beforehand for extra flavor). "Pan con tomate is so fresh and vibrant tasting, I wanted to capture that in this dip — just with a zippy punch from the Dijon mustard," she explains. 

Thanks to the inclusion of grated Roma tomato in the dip, Watkins did achieve her pan con tomate-inspired goal without making things too complicated. She notes that, depending on how thick you want your dip, you could strain the grated tomato first for some added body (as written, the dip has a vinaigrette-like consistency). "Or, you can use a combination of grated tomato with a little tomato paste," she adds, for those who want it even thicker with an even more intense tomato kick.

If you'd prefer to skip the tomato in the honey mustard entirely (or go with something more solidly tomato-based), that's definitely an option as well. "You can absolutely go the more traditional route with your basic honey mustard," Watkins says. "Or, lean into the garlic bread theme with a marinara or pizza sauce."

There are many ways that one might describe the garlic bread-wrapped hot dogs in this recipe — but small likely isn't one of those descriptors. Thanks to her intentional choice of extra-long hot dogs, these bad boys are far from mini or bite-sized, making them something closer to a full-fledged meal (or at the very least a hearty snack). If you'd prefer to make something smaller and more appetizer-leaning, though, then you can easily do so with a few ingredient swaps and directional pivots.

The most notable ingredient swap you'll need to make is to ditch the full-sized franks for cocktail weenies or little smokies (or just cut your hot dogs down to smaller pieces). "For the pizza dough, roll the dough into a large rectangle and slice it into smaller strips — strips just long enough to wrap around the weenies," Watkins advises. Brush with egg wash, then bake for an initial period of 5 minutes. From there, you can either brush the minis with garlic butter or simply dunk them, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for a few minutes longer, just until the dough is golden brown, the parm is melted, and the garlic is nice and fragrant.

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