5 Best Ways To Repurpose Costco's Refrigerated Hot Dogs

One of the highlights of any trip to Costco is a stop at the food court for a cheap hot dog and soda combo meal. While this deal may be popular because of its bargain price, the hot dogs actually taste pretty good, too. Still, if you don't make box store runs too often, you can always recreate the Costco hot dog experience at home with a package of refrigerated hot dogs purchased from the store. According to one commenter on a Costco subreddit thread, the food court simmers the store's Kirkland brand hot dogs in 180-degree Fahrenheit water for about 15 minutes. Of course, Costco sells all the buns, condiments, sodas, and any other accouterments you may desire to accompany those dogs once they're done. 

If you've purchased a Costco-sized package of wieners, you'll likely have quite a few left over, so you might want to experiment with a few other recipes. Sure, the standard food court dog is a classic, but there are numerous other hot dog styles to explore. You could even think outside the bun by using this meat in other dishes such as casseroles or stews.

Hot dogs, despite their German roots, have been embraced as an all-American food, but all across the nation, different regions have put their own special spin on the sandwich (or non-sandwich, depending on what side of the debate you're on). In Seattle, your hot dog may be topped with cream cheese, grilled onions, and sriracha, while in West Virginia it could come with chili, coleslaw, and mustard. Sonoran dogs, a southwestern specialty, are bacon-wrapped and loaded down with beans, cheese, onions, peppers, and tomatoes along with a heaping helping of condiments: mayonnaise, mustard, relish, and salsa. (No ketchup, though.) Chili, mustard, and onions go on top of a Coney or Detroit dog, while the Milwaukee dog ... really isn't a thing, but if it was, it would probably be topped with cheese curds.

One famous regional weiner is the Chicago dog. To make this, you'll need to top your Costco dog with mustard (the yellow kind), relish, onions, tomatoes, a pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt and plop it on a poppy seed bun. If you're in a more tropical mood, you could instead opt for Hawaiian-style puka dogs made with pineapple relish and mango mustard.

While Costco's food court may be one of the store's main selling points, its options are somewhat limited, and to the best of our knowledge, it's never offered a chili dog. While one Redditor reported that they'd had some success convincing food court workers to top their hot dog with the beans and cheese that came with baked potatoes, this was probably at a U.K. Costco since American food courts don't even offer potatoes.

If you want a Costco chili dog, your best bet is to pick up a package of hot dogs, take them home, and add your own chili. If you're going with canned chili, two ingredients can help to boost the flavor: vinegar gives it a little tang while black pepper provides mild spiciness. You could also throw together a batch of our quick and easy chili if you have about an hour to spare and some ground beef, tomato paste, onions, and seasonings to make it with. No beans are necessary, though — because hot dog chili is a sauce instead of a meal, it's typically bean-free.

Corn dogs are practically synonymous with state fairs and carnivals, and in fact, it seems to be somewhat of a ritual for presidential candidates to make a campaign stop at the Iowa State Fair and be photographed eating one of the best-known foods on a stick. (Democratic VP hopeful Tim Walz has a leg up since corn dogs are his favorite fair food.) If you find yourself craving a corn dog after the fair's left town, they're not too difficult to DIY with your Costco dogs. The dipping step may be the most complicated part of the process, but you can simplify this step by using a mason jar to hold the corn dog batter. (Tbh, a non-mason jar or a tall plastic cup will also work just fine.)

If you're a fan of trendy Korean-style corn dogs, you can make these at home, as well. You'll start with the batter dip, same as with a standard carnival-style dog, but then roll the dipped dog in crushed ramen noodles, cornflakes, Cheetos, or another crunchy, tasty ingredient. (Carla Hall has a recipe for corn dogs coated with crushed tortilla chips.)

Your basic casserole components usually include some type of protein, maybe some vegetables if you want to be healthy, plus a hearty layer of starch for bulk and some type of sauce or cheese (or cheesy sauce) to bind everything together. Casseroles may not be haute cuisine but they can make for a budget-friendly way to feed a family. Tube steaks, too, tend to be pretty unpretentious, and at Costco prices they're certainly cheap, making them the perfect meat to use in a casserole. One of the simplest ways to make this dish involves simply spreading a layer of mashed potatoes in a pan, then laying a line of hot dogs on top (no need to slice them, although you can if you want). Cover the whole thing with shredded cheese, then bake it until the hot dogs are hot and the cheese melts into a nice crust.

A slightly more elaborate (but still easy) hot dog casserole recipe requires combining chopped-up hot dogs with baked beans, corn, and canned tomatoes and using that as the bottom layer. This time the mashed potatoes go on top, but the casserole still gets finished off with a cheesy topping.

Korean fried chicken and corn dogs may be trendy, but budae jjigae is something you may not see on the menu at every Korean restaurant. That's a pity, because this stew was fusion food decades before Wolfgang Puck made the term fashionable. The fascinating history of budae jjigae starts with the Korean War. Its name translates to "army base stew," and its eclectic mix of ingredients includes items that might have been found in the average Korean pantry in the early 1950s combined with the items that would have been stocked in a U.S. army commissary during that same period, hot dogs among them.

To make homemade budae jjigae, you'll start by filling a pan with kimchi, vegetables, and tofu, which sounds like the start of a pretty standard stir-fry. Things start to take a different turn, however, with the addition of Spam and Costco hot dogs (the big box store being perhaps the closest thing we have to a civilian commissary). You then add broth, seasonings, and ramen noodles, and top everything off with American cheese. This unique dish is all kinds of flavorful and is certainly one of the more interesting ways to use up a package of hot dogs.