I just saw a chart the other day for how hot dogs are eaten in other places. Probably unsurprisingly to you, this recipe didn’t appear on the list.
This recipe also sparked a lot of discussion about what makes something “Deviled”. Is it the addition of mustard? I mean, deviled eggs and deviled hot dogs have that in common. But then I ponder about things like any “Diablo” recipe and those tend to include chilis. Is there actual criteria when naming something “deviled” or is it just an adjective that people assign willy-nilly?
First of all, you should know that this recipe scared us. I suggested to my brother that we make this recipe for his kids when they came to visit, he declined. He’s such a chicken.
Since the recipe was in my head, I made it.
What is it? Deviled hot dogs are hot dogs braised in a cream sauce seasoned by pickle relish and onions and green pepper.
Well, we think it’s green pepper.
Technically the recipe says “gr. pepper”. After adding the 3 TB of green pepper, I realized that “gr pepper” is also “ground pepper”. It’s weird to measure green pepper in tablespoons. However, in Iowa, where my mom grew up, ketchup/catsup was considered spicy. 3 TB of ground pepper is a lot of black pepper for any recipe (with the exceptions being something HUGE or something like pastrami) and most of the other recipes that have “gr. pepper” make it obvious that the reference is to green pepper. 
Surprisingly, this recipe was better than expected. It was actually kind of good. I think it depends on the quality of the hot dogs, but use what you like.
In hindsight, butter toasted the buns would improve the meal. Toasting prevents the sauce from soaking deeply into the buns. It adds a little crispy element. Untoasted buns are sort of white and squashy and like the comfort food you never knew you needed. Because we didn’t know the correct way of proceeding, we served these with our normal ketchup and mustard on the table, but this is an up to your taste sort of thing.
For a fun variation, add cheese to the cream sauce. It’s like a cheddarwurst. Add beer to the cheese sauce and you really have something special.
We had a lot of sauce left over. I secretly used it in a creamy pasta dish later in the week.
Don’t tell the kids.
The Recipe:
If you like this recipe, check out Devilish Behavior and Deviled Green Beans, Devils Food Cake with Marshmallow Frosting, and Buried Treasure Delicious Hot Dish.
