Recipe courtesy of Jeff Mauro

Third Down Conversion Dog

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 45 min
  • Active: 25 min
  • Yield: 4 hot dogs

Ingredients

Beer Cheese Sauce:

Directions

  1. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Slice the hot dogs lengthwise to butterfly them, making sure not to slice all the way through. Place the hot dogs cut-side down on the grill and cook until nice and charred to your liking, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (I like a good heavy char for that extra texture and flavor.)
  2. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with a lid with about an inch of water, then place a steamer basket or vegetable steamer inside, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then add the pretzel hot dog buns and steam, covered, until soft and warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat but keep covered.
  3. Nestle the dogs into the steamed pretzel buns and ladle on plenty of the Beer Cheese Sauce. Top with the sliced pickled jalapenos, fried onions and giardiniera or cherry pepper slices.

Beer Cheese Sauce:

Yield: 2 1/2 cups
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the evaporated milk, lager, mustard and Worcestershire and whisk together until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the cheeses and cornstarch until the cheese is completely coated. Add the cheese mixture to the beer mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the cheese melts completely and the sauce is thickened, silky and smooth, 5 to 10 minutes. Keep warm.