Sloppy Joe Dogs

The only way we can tackle this week is by making and eating a childhood classic, but since it is Monday after all—AKA the most dreaded day of all—one childhood favorite is not enough. That’s not going to get us through work and things we NEED to do instead of things we WANT to do. This is not a drill, friends. There’s only one road to take here. We need to dust off those big guns and do something about it now. So today I’m bringing you a combination of two childhood favorites. A collision of flavor that kids and adults alike will love and thank you for days on end. Sloppy Joes and Hot Dogs are getting married and becoming the ultimate sandwich that takes no time at all to whip up. So when you’re in need of a super fast meal after work but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen because you got shows to catch up on; the answer is Sloppy Joe Dogs. 

This month’s collaboration for Go Bold With Butter is a nod to two dishes I ate as a kid all the time. Always separate of course, because I wasn’t that cool of a kid as I am now. As most children did, I demanded hot dogs on the regular and my mom and I would eat sloppy joes whenever it was just us for dinner, because my sisters HATED (still do) sloppy joes. They’re aliens, what can I say?! Now lucky for us all, we don’t have to choose between the two because we can totally have them together in one mega dish. Vegetables? Who needs vegetables?! Give me all the hot dogs topped with sloppy joes any day of the week. 

Let’s start with the sloppy joe topping for the butter basted crispy hot dogs. Brown the ground sirloin in a large skillet until crispy and cooked through. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook until just beginning to soften. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two to cook off that raw flour taste. 

**Note: I used ground sirloin but if you’d like, feel free to use ground chicken, turkey or pork instead! You can easily switch it up with whatever you have on hand or whatever you feel like eating.**

Add the seasonings, tomato paste, tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook until thickened and the sauce has slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. The longer the sloppy joe mixture cooks, the more flavorful it will be. Keep that in mind. 

While that simmers away, let’s turn our attention to the hot dogs themselves. You can’t have Sloppy Joe Dogs without hot dogs. I like to use Hebrew National just because the quality is really great…not an ad, I just love them. You can steam the dogs and call if good, but that sounds boring and completely uninviting. So I suggest and highly recommend that you cook the dogs in melted butter because crispy butter basted hot dogs sounds like the greatest idea ever. 

Warm the buns in the oven and then split them open. Place a dog in each and then load up the top with the sloppy joes. Sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese or chopped onions. 

**Note: I used large rolls instead of hot dog buns because I feel like you’ll be able to get more sloppy joes on there than you would if you used just regular hot dog buns.**

 
If you want a heartier dog, switch up the hot dogs for brats or sausages. There are so many different sausages and brats available at the grocery store these days that you can really make these anyway you want. If you make the sloppy joes with ground chicken, keep that chicken theme going strong by using chicken sausages. That would be delicious! 

You can easily make the sloppy joes ahead of time and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use later in the week. Just transfer it to a skillet or saucepan and reheat over low, stirring often, until warmed through. 

**Note: If you want to keep it longer than a week, let the mixture cool completely and then transfer it to a freezer gallon bag and then freeze the mixture for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge over night and reheat on the stove.**

If you don’t eat cheese, try adding crispy fried onion strings on top or pickles instead! Both of those will go really well with the sloppy joes and can be easily switched out without much effort! 

Don’t forget to grab the recipe from the GO BOLD WITH BUTTER site right this second so that you can make it for dinner this week! You’ll definitely want to add it to the weekly dinner rotation because hot dogs with sloppy joes on top and cheese for dinner will be the best decision you’ll make all week. 

**Thank you for your continued support of the occasional sponsored post on this site. They help keep the blog going, allowing me to continue to share my recipes with you on a weekly basis. I never want my sponsorships to feel forced, which is why I only partner with companies I feel very passionate about and actually use on a regular basis.**