Croque Madame Breakfast Hot Dogs

So, I have to run something by you guys. Apparently, in Texas, hot dogs are classified as a breakfast food. Usually in the form of pigs in a blanket. Don’t get me wrong, they’re also welcome at tailgates and evening barbecues, but if you want to start the morning with a dog, it’s all good down here. What is this?! Have y’all heard of this? I really thought I was being tricked at first.

I first heard of this phenomenon from my boyfriend, Rob, a born-and-bred Austinite who wanted me to make lil’ smokies for brunch one morning. I thought he was just being a funky meat-loving dude, but turns out he was onto something, because a few weeks later, someone brought a pastry box into work and told everyone to help themselves to breakfast. I assumed it was a box of doughnuts, so imagine my surprise… pigs in a blanket! So the stories were true! Rob explained (after a respectable amount of “I-told-you-so” banter) that Czech kolaches are quite popular in Central Texas. I still had my doubts (and had actually never heard of kolaches before moving here) but the Internet confirmed his story. Kolaches started in eastern Europe as a sweet, fruit-filled pastry, but over here they’re more likely to be stuffed with sausage and/or cheese (Wikipedia calls savory types klobasnek, but they’re all called kolaches here.)

Okay! Now you know how I learned to stop worrying and love the morning hot dog. It didn’t take much effort to accept it– in fact, I wanted to embrace it wholeheartedly and really kick up the breakfast aspect. One of my favorite, most indulgent brunch dishes is also bread stuffed with meat and cheese: the croque madame. Why not combine Czech with French to make the ultimate cheesy, meaty masterpiece? Thus, my monstrous hot dog creation was born. Kolache expert (and fellow croque madame lover) Rob gave it an A+, so I figure I must be onto something.

Croque Madame Breakfast Hot Dog

Hot dog of your choice (I may be making this insane triple-meat creation, but I’m still somewhat of a hippie at heart; I buy Applegate “Super Natural” uncured turkey dogs)
Good quality ham and turkey deli meat
Swiss or gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
Fresh eggs
Croissant dough (you can make your own, but I can’t front, I was lazy and got some store-bought stuff)

This is easy. Take your hot dog and wrap a few slices of cheese around it. Wrap that in two slices of turkey, then wrap that in two slices of ham. Then take that big ol’ meat and cheese log and wrap it snugly in croissant dough. Place your P-in-a-Bs on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350°. They should get golden brown and melty around the edges, but not toooo brown.

In the meantime, cook your eggs over easy (1-2 eggs per dog, depending on your level of egg cravings. The more runny yolk the better, I always say.) As soon as your dogs are out of the oven and have cooled on the sheet for a few minutes, slide one onto a plate, shred more cheese over it, and top with just-cooked eggs.

If you wanted to get reaaaally crazy, you could top the whole thing with a true mornay sauce instead of just more shredded cheese.