Gordon Ramsay’s chilli dogs are griddled frankfurters loaded with a quick beef chilli, sticky balsamic onions, and crumbled Lancashire cheese, all packed into a soft bun. Ready in 35 minutes from his Ultimate Cookery Course.
In the book he calls this “a dog worth crossing the street for” and says he is “a real sucker for proper American hotdogs.” The chilli makes double, so you get leftovers for another night built into the recipe.
What makes this different from dumping tinned chilli on a sausage is the three separate components. The chilli simmers with whole cumin seeds and oregano, the onions caramelise slowly with balsamic, and the sausage gets griddled for colour. Each one is built properly before they meet in the bun.
Gordon Ramsay Chilli Dogs
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes25
minutes650
kcal35
minutesGriddled frankfurters topped with a 20-minute beef chilli, balsamic caramelised red onions, and crumbled Lancashire cheese from Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course. Makes enough chilli for leftovers. Serves 2.
Ingredients
- For the quick chilli:
Olive oil, for frying
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp cumin seeds
½-1 tsp chilli powder, to taste
300g (10½ oz) minced beef
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tomato purée
400g tin chopped tomatoes
Pinch of caster sugar
½ tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
- For the caramelised onions:
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- To assemble:
2 large frankfurter sausages
2 hotdog buns
50g (2 oz) Lancashire cheese, crumbled
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Directions
- Make the chilli: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the onion for 4-5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and fry for another minute. Add cumin seeds and stir for 1-2 minutes until aromatic, then mix in the chilli powder. Season the mince, turn up the heat, add more oil, and fry for 6-8 minutes until browned. Add Worcestershire sauce, turn down the heat, and stir in tomato purée for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, and oregano. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Caramelise the onions: Heat a small frying pan with a dash of oil over medium-low heat. Add the red onions with a pinch of salt and sweat gently for 10-15 minutes until completely soft and golden. Do not increase the heat. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar, increase heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes until sticky and reduced.
- Cook the sausages: Boil or griddle the frankfurters for 6 minutes until heated through. Drain.
- Assemble: Divide the caramelised onions between the opened hotdog buns. Top with the cooked sausage and a generous spoonful or two of chilli. Crumble over the Lancashire cheese and finish with chopped spring onion.
FAQs
Why Lancashire cheese and not cheddar?
Lancashire crumbles instead of melting into a flat sheet. That means you get pockets of cheese sitting in the hot chilli rather than one solid layer on top.
It is also tangier than cheddar, which cuts through the richness of the beef and the sweetness of the onions. If you cannot find it, Cheshire or Wensleydale crumble in the same way. Cheddar works but it behaves differently.
Why caramelise the onions with balsamic?
The onions sweat slowly for 15 minutes on their own first. That long gentle cook turns them soft and sweet before the sugar and balsamic go anywhere near them.
Adding balsamic at the end gives a sharp, slightly fruity stickiness that balances the sugar. Without it the onions taste flat and one-note.
Ramsay says not to rush this step or turn up the heat because you will end up with burnt onions instead of caramelised ones.
Why whole cumin seeds instead of ground?
Ramsay toasts whole cumin seeds in the pan for 1-2 minutes before adding the mince. On the show he says to stir them to “release their lovely aromatic flavour.”
Whole seeds give bursts of flavour when you bite into them, while ground cumin blends into the background. His chilli con carne uses ground cumin for a smoother heat, so the two recipes taste noticeably different even though they share the same base.
Should you griddle or boil the sausages?
Ramsay says either works. Griddling gives you charred lines and a slight snap to the skin, boiling keeps them plump and juicy.
For chilli dogs, griddling is the better call because you want some contrast against the soft chilli and onions. Six minutes in a hot griddle pan is enough. His chilli beef lettuce wraps follow the same idea: crispy filling against a soft shell.
Can you use the leftover chilli as a standalone meal?
Ramsay deliberately makes double. The recipe says “the quantity of chilli here will produce enough for leftovers for another night.”
On its own it is a lighter chilli than the F Word version because there are no kidney beans, no cinnamon, and no stock. Serve it with rice or jacket potatoes and add a spoonful of soured cream.
It keeps in the fridge for three days or freezes well for a month.
