Chili Cheese Dog Skillet Joes
Ground beef, chopped hot dogs, and chili sauce cooked down in one pan and piled onto buns at the picnic table.
- calories
- 820
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 75
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Lean ground beef | 1 lb | keep frozen at the bottom of the cooler and cook it the first night |
|---|---|---|
| Hot dogs | 1 1/2 cups diced | about 5 dogs; shelf-stable packs exist if the cooler is tight |
| Yellow onion | 1 cup diced | dice at home so you are not cutting on a tailgate |
| Taco seasoning | 1 oz packet | |
| Chili sauce | 1 1/2 cups | Heinz style, in a squeeze bottle |
| Salsa | 1 cup | medium; a pouch beats a glass jar |
| Shredded mozzarella and cheddar blend | 2 cups | |
| Hamburger buns | 4 large |
Method
- Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the beef with the onion, breaking it up as it goes. Eight to ten minutes.
- Tip the pan and spoon off the grease. Pour it into your trash bag or a spare can, not onto the ground.
- Stir in the diced hot dogs and let them pick up some color, two minutes.
- Add the taco seasoning, chili sauce, and salsa. Drop the heat to low and simmer until it thickens enough to sit on a bun, about eight minutes.
- Split the buns and toast them face down in a dry pan or on the grate while the meat simmers.
- Pull the skillet off the heat, stir in the cheese, and let the residual heat melt it. Spoon onto the buns.
This is a home skillet dinner that survives the trip to a campsite mostly intact, so it stays a car-camping recipe rather than a backpacking one. The beef needs a cooler and the cheese does too, which is why it is a first-night meal.
The chili sauce and salsa carry both the liquid and the seasoning, so no water goes in and nothing needs measuring. Simmering it down matters more than it looks: a thin mix soaks straight through a bun and you eat dinner off your boots. Stirring the cheese in off the heat keeps it melting into the meat instead of seizing into strings on the pan bottom.
Packing
Beef frozen solid, hot dogs and cheese in the cooler, onion diced into a small container. Seasoning, chili sauce, salsa, and buns ride in the dry bin. Buns go on top or they arrive flat.
Variations
- No cooler space for cheese: a squeeze pouch of shelf-stable cheese sauce over the top does the same job.
- Skip the buns and spoon it over instant mashed potatoes or corn chips for a one-bowl version.
https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/chili-cheese-dog-sloppy-joes