Seattle Dog

Name: Seattle Dog
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 beef dogs; 1 onion, sliced; 1 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp Colonial Chile Oil; Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Sea Salt; 1 jalapeno, sliced; 4 hotdog buns; 2 tbsp butter; Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce; 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature; Yoder Smokers Beef Rub; 1 tbsp Kozlik's Dijon Classique

Aug 06, 2024 • Tom Jackson

The Seattle Dog is a unique twist on a classic hot dog, infused with robust flavors and a creamy topping. Start by turning on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to run the fans without igniting it. Fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with pellets, place it on the bottom grate, and light it with a propane torch. Season a block of room-temperature cream cheese with Yoder Smokers Beef Rub and place it on a FrogMat on the smoker's second shelf, away from the smoke tube. Cold smoke the cream cheese for about two hours. After smoking, mix the cream cheese with Kozlik's Dijon Classique mustard and let it sit at room temperature. Preheat the grill to 450ºF with the diffuser removed and GrillGrates installed. Heat a Lodge 10” Steel Skillet on the GrillGrates, then melt butter with Colonial Chile Oil. Add sliced onions, season with Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Sea Salt, and cook until softened and browned at the edges. Score the beef hot dogs in a crosshatch pattern, grill them over direct heat until browned, and warm through. In a separate skillet, melt butter and toast the buns. To assemble, spread the smoked cream cheese mixture on the toasted buns, add the hot dogs, top with griddled onions, sliced jalapeños, and finish with Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce. Enjoy this flavorful and spicy Seattle Dog!

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Cold-smoked cream cheese transforms the whole hot dog: Two hours of cold smoke on the YS640s gives the cream cheese real wood smoke flavor throughout, not just on the surface — mixed with Kozlik's Dijon Classique, it becomes a genuinely sophisticated spread that elevates this far beyond a standard hot dog topping.
Crosshatch scoring on the dogs isn't just for looks: Cutting a shallow crosshatch pattern into the beef dogs before grilling increases surface area for browning and char, giving you more textural contrast in every bite than a plain grilled dog.
Black Garlic Sea Salt on the onions is a small touch with a big payoff: Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Sea Salt adds a deep, savory-sweet umami note to the griddled onions that a standard salt simply can't replicate.
Buttered, toasted buns hold up to everything piled on top: Toasting the buns in butter before assembly gives them enough structural integrity and flavor to stand up to the cream cheese, onions, jalapeños, and hot sauce without going soggy.

Seattle Dog

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.1 stars by 9 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

4

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

559

The Seattle Dog is more than just a hot dog; it’s a culinary adventure that brings the vibrant flavors of the Pacific Northwest to your backyard grill. Imagine the aroma of cold-smoked cream cheese wafting through the air, paired with the satisfying sizzle of crosshatched beef dogs grilling to perfection. Topped with buttery, griddled onions, zesty jalapeños, and a bold hot sauce, this recipe transforms a simple hot dog into a gourmet experience. Whether you’re hosting a neighborhood cookout or simply looking to elevate your weeknight dinner, the Seattle Dog is a must-try that promises to impress and delight with every bite. Get ready to ignite your taste buds and bring your neighbors together over this extraordinary dish!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 beef dogs
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Colonial Chile Oil
Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Sea Salt
1 jalapeno, sliced
4 hotdog buns
2 tbsp butter
Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce

Cream Cheese Spread:

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
Yoder Smokers Beef Rub
1 tbsp Kozlik's Dijon Classique

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Directions

Turn on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill, but do not ignite, just let the fans runs. Fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with pellets. Place on the bottom grate and light with a propane torch.
Season the cream cheese with the Yoder Smokers Beef Rub. Place the cream cheese block on a FrogMat on the second shelf of the smoker, opposite side from the smoke tube. Cold smoke the cream cheese for about two hours.
Mix the cold smoked cream cheese with the bowl with the Kozlik's Dijon Classique in a bowl and let sit at room temperature.
Light the grill and set the temperature to 450ºF, with the diffuser or diffuser door removed and GrillGrates installed over the fire box. Place a Lodge 10” Steel Skillet on the GrillGrates to preheat.
When the skillet is hot, add the butter and Colonial Chile Oil. When the butter is melted, add the onions and season with Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Sea Salt. Cook until starting to soften and brown at the edges, then move to the indirect side of the grill to keep warm.
Score the hot dogs in a crosshatch pattern on two sides. Grill the hotdogs over direct heat on the GrillGrates until browned and warmed through.
On a separate burner, melt two tablespoons butter in a Lodge 12” Steel Skillet over medium heat. Toast the buns in the butter.
To assemble the Seattle Dogs, first spread the buns with the smoked cream cheese mixture. Place a hot dog on each bun. Top with the griddled onions, sliced jalapeños and top with Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What makes a Seattle Dog a "Seattle Dog"?
The Seattle Dog is a hot dog variation that originated in Seattle, Washington, built around a distinctive combination: a grilled beef hot dog in a toasted bun, generously spread with cream cheese, topped with sautéed onions and sliced jalapeños. Some versions add sauerkraut or sriracha for extra tang or heat. It's a popular late-night and stadium food in Seattle, and this recipe builds on the classic formula with cold-smoked cream cheese and a few additional flavor layers.

What does "run the fans without igniting" mean on the YS640s?
Pressing the power button on the Yoder Smokers YS640s activates the fans without lighting the fire, creating a cold airflow mode. This circulates air through the cooking chamber without generating heat — essential for cold smoking, since you want the A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker's smoke to pass over the cream cheese without any ambient heat that would melt it.

Can I make the smoked cream cheese ahead of time?
Yes — the cold-smoked cream cheese and Dijon mixture keeps well refrigerated for up to 5 days. Let it come back to room temperature before spreading on the toasted buns, since cold cream cheese straight from the fridge is difficult to spread evenly.

Why score the hot dogs before grilling?
Cutting a shallow crosshatch pattern into the beef dogs increases the surface area exposed to direct heat, producing more browning and char per bite than a plain, unscored dog. It also helps the dogs cook a bit more evenly and gives them a slightly more textured bite once plated.

Can I make this indoors?
3 out of 5 — Works indoors with adjustments. The onion griddle, hot dog grilling, and buttered bun toasting all replicate easily on a stovetop using a cast iron or carbon steel skillet. The cold smoke step for the cream cheese is the limiting factor — without a dedicated cold smoke setup, you'll miss that signature smoky cream cheese flavor, though plain Dijon cream cheese is still a solid base.

Recipe Highlights

Season all sides of the cream cheese block before smoking: Coating the entire block — top, bottom, and edges — with Yoder Smokers Beef Rub ensures the smoke and seasoning interact evenly across every surface during the two-hour cold smoke, rather than just the top face.
Position the cream cheese away from the smoke tube: Placing the cream cheese on the opposite side of the second shelf from the A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker keeps it out of any direct heat the tube might generate, while still letting smoke circulate around it in the fan-driven airflow.
Cook the onions until they start to brown at the edges, not just soften: That initial caramelization is what gives the onions real flavor depth rather than just a softened, raw-tasting topping.
Toast the buns in butter on a separate burner: Using a second skillet for the buns rather than the same pan as the onions or hot dogs keeps the toasting butter clean and lets you control the bun browning independently while the other components finish.