My first experience with a “Francheezie”, as it was called, was at a small restaurant near my parents house about 10 years ago. I had never heard of such a creation until that day and I will certainly never forget it. At this particular restaurant it was made a little differently than I made it, but only in the fact that it was deep fried. I don’t have a deep fryer so I had to make a bit of a compromise.
Francheezie Ingredients
- Jumbo Hot Dog
- Cheese (your preference, I used American)
- Bacon
- Hot Dog Bun
- Condiments of Your Choice (I used ketchup/mustard)
In order to create this dish you will need access to a knife, a stove and a pan or skillet of some sort. You can also make these on the grill, but since it’s winter here in Chicago I don’t have access to a grill.
So the first thing you need to do is take one of the jumbo hot dogs and slice it down the middle the long ways, this is going to be our cheese reservoir. You may have to slice it more than half way through as the dogs are sometimes hard to open up, but don’t cut all the way through or all the way to the ends (cheese will leak out). Once you have your slit in the dog, fill that son of a bitch with as much cheese as you can. Jam it in there if you have to. A spread cheese may have worked better than my American cheese slices, but it’s all I had. (Note: Don’t follow my pictures and cut the hot dog all the way to the ends and you won’t have the leaky cheese problem that I had)
Next take your bacon out of the package and wrap it around the dog. I used 2 slices of bacon for my Francheezie, but I will probably go 3 on the next go around as you really want to seal the cheese into the dog otherwise it will all leak out as you’re cooking it. So wrap the dog up as tight as you can, making sure to seal all of the cheese inside.
Now it’s time to cook this monster. I used a pan on the stove, but ideally you would deep fry it or use the grill. Just throw the creation into the pan and cook as if you were cooking bacon. Let it sit on each side for about 2 minutes or until the bacon is cooked to your liking. I like mine a little crispy so I left it on a little bit longer to get that little crunch to it. Be careful about the cheese leaking out. I had a cheese-leak issue because I slit the hotdog all the way to the ends when I should have stopped a little before.
And that’s it! Put whatever condiments you want on top, I used ketchup and mustard, and enjoy. I have no idea how many calories this thing has, but I can’t imagine it’s good for you in any possible way so eat with caution. Also if you’re making this on the grill, I highly recommend grilling the bun a little bit as well, but again I was not using a grill.
Wow, from Chicago and puts Ketchup on a hot dog. I thought only kids did that. Only a Chicago wuss would lament that it sis winter so he could not grill. I live in the suburbs and grill except during hail or lightening.
Did it as a kid, still do it, my family grew up putting ketchup on everything… Also have lived in the Chicagoland area my whole life and can’t stand deep dish pizza… so that probably offends you too I’m guessing. And yup, me and cold don’t get along. Despite the fact that there was a shit ton of snow on the ground when I made this, I also lived in a condo building which didn’t afford me access to a grill… Either way though, I’m definitely a pussy when it comes to the cold, so even with a grill you’d never find my skinny ass out there using it when it’s that cold.
David,
As long as it is not a traditional Chicago Style hot dog exceptions can be made with the ketchup.
He said Chicagoland area (Suburbs) – no self respecting real Chicagoan puts catsup on a dog! It already is sweet with the relish so more sweetness from catsup really kills it!
Other than that the francheezie receipe looks good Tom 🙂
Thanks for the comment, hope you get a chance to try a Francheezie for yourself. There are a bunch of restaurants in the area that actually serve them up on their menus, it’s not something I came up with on my own. However, if you want to really push it over the top, fill the hot dog with Merkts Cheddar instead of just plain old boring American cheese. Merkts goes well with anything!
As for the ketchup on a hot dog… I actually know lots of people that were born and raised in Chicago proper and put ketchup on their hot dogs, but everyone’s got their own food preferences, and clearly mine are abysmal, ha! And unfortunately, due to some diet restrictions, I can no longer have onions, relish or tomato on a hot dog, which pretty much squashes any attempt to have a real Chicago-style dog.
Thanks again for checking out the site though, appreciate it!
Haha! I made these in high school. Home economy at Senn ! My family loves them. I order one occasionally at my favorite restaurant. Jacks had a great one.
Brings back great memories! Thanks for sharing.
they are so good! It’s been a while since I’ve had one, but I think it’s time to change that. Thanks for the comment!
With the constant mentioning of the cheese leaking out, maybe you should call this item
Francheezes Leakers
I’ve definitely had the Francheezie from restaurants who have the ability to make it properly and the cheese doesn’t leak out as much. Might have to do with the deep frying. But I’m not opposed to renaming this version to the Francheezie Leaker…. thanks for the comment.
Tom
Any breakfast lunch or family restaurant with francheezies gets my repeat business.
During the last year I started trying to do it at home.
Now I cook it under the broiler. I pre broiled the bacon in an iron skillet while I assembled the dog. Then wrap the partially bacon around the dog and put it back under the broiler. Comes out just the the pros.