June 23: Chili Dog Bacon Cheeseburgers and Fiery Fries

8 slices center-cut or other lean, thick-cut smoky bacon
1 sack (16 to 20 ounces) crispy-style frozen French fries
1 pound lean ground beef
2 beef or pork hot dogs, diced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
   Hot sauce, to taste
2 tablespoons ketchup
   Vegetable oil, for drizzling
4 slices deli sliced Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped chives
   Coarse salt, to taste
1/2 cup chili sauce
4 kaiser rolls, split
   Veggie sticks or oil-and-vinegar-dressed slaw

Preheat the broiler to high.

Place the bacon on a slotted broiler pan. Cook the bacon 10 inches from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until crisp, and remove to a plate.

Adjust the oven to bake, setting at the temperature recommended on the package of fries, and bake the fries.

While the fries cook, make the burgers. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the beef with the chopped hot dogs, chili powder, grill seasoning, Worcestershire, some hot sauce, and the ketchup. Form 4 large patties. Add a drizzle of oil, once around the skillet, and add the patties.

Cook the burgers for 6 minutes on each side, then top each with 2 slices of bacon and 1 slice of Cheddar. Turn the heat off, cover the pan with a loose foil tent, and let the cheese melt for a minute or two.

When the fries are extra crisp remove them from the oven. Place the butter, some hot sauce, and the garlic in a small dish and microwave on High for 20 seconds, then transfer the fries to a large bowl. Toss the fries with the butter mixture and chives and season with salt.

Slather chili sauce on the tops of the split kaiser rolls. Place the bacon-chili-cheeseburgers on the bun bottoms and set the tops in place. Pile fries alongside and serve.

4 SERVINGS

I made this meal for dinner tonight after church, but it was too late for my daughters by the time I got home. My husband cooked them some pizza rolls (those are his favorite food). So I ate this meal by myself. While he was baking, I microwaved the bacon, because you can't broil and bake at the same time. I baked my fries when he was done with his pizza rolls.

Here is what I did differently: I used crinkle cut fries instead of crispy. Crispy probably would have been better with the butter topping, because they were a little soggy. I changed the hot sauce in the recipe from 1 teaspoon in the burgers and 1 tablespoon on the fries to "to taste." I just used a few drops of it in the burgers, and none on the fries. I only had 3 slices of Cheddar, so I subbed in 1 of Colby-Jack. I added the veggies to the ingredient list, because RR suggests it before the recipe.

This meal is not bad, but I probably would have just rather had regular chili dogs. The hot dog pieces made my hamburgers fall to pieces in the pan. Plus, the chili powder flavor was a little too strong. I liked the fries, but they would have tasted as good and been much healthier to eat plain (or as I like it - with ketchup).