Chili dog

"What's a chili dog without heaps of cheese, and onions, and spice with plenty of danger?"

- Sonic, "Tails in Charge"

Chili dogs are hot dogs with chili sauce. They are the favorite food of Sonic the Hedgehog in several continuities, particularly the various TV series (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground). Chili dogs are an interesting (and somewhat rare) example of a staple from the comics and cartoons "bleeding" into the games.

Description
Recent games from the series have also made reference to chili dogs as Sonic's food of choice. In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails also liked chili dogs, but preferred his with extra cheese. Additionally, Breezie likes chili dogs but she only eats the ones prepared by Chef Charlemagne.

Other types of hot dogs also appear. For example, in Sonic Underground, Sonic's sister Sonia the Hedgehog likes to eat hot dogs with tofu, much to her brother Sonic's disgust.

The earliest canon reference to Sonic's enjoyment of hot dogs (rather than the more specific chili dogs) seems to be in early issues of Sonic the Comic. In Sonic the Comic #5, Sonic sits down to eat 300 hot dogs and 100 thick shakes as the second course of breakfast (the first course of which consisted of 200 hamburgers, much to Tails' disgust). However, this doesn't seem to be much of a problem to Sonic since it can be implied that he can burn off the calories with his running (narrowly avoiding the fact that it would be impossible, even for Sonic, to eat all of the food in a single sitting).

There is also a reference in Sonic the Hedgehog #0 which depicts Sonic and his uncle operating a chili dog stand, indicating that the love of the chili dog might well be a family affair.

In a story in Sonic the Hedgehog #11, Sonic eats a bunch of chili dogs as a birthday present to himself, then has a food related nightmare where he is a chili dog. When Sonic wakes up, Sally Acorn and Tails give him a plate of chili dogs. Sonic at first refuses this present, but then eats them anyway.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog Play-a-Sound book, the plot is that Sonic is racing Robotnik in a scavenger hunt to win 6,000,000 Mobiums, which he says he will donate to charity. In the end, he wins the money and spends it on chili dogs instead.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (miniseries) #0, Part II, Sonic mentions having a "chili dog break".

Game References

 * In the Japanese manual of Sonic Advance 3, it states that Sonic loves chili dogs.
 * During the end credits of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Sonic briefly mentions chili dogs.
 * In Sonic Unleashed, different hot dogs can be bought and won from certain missions, pertaining to the location they are received from. Most stores even sell normal chili dogs, claiming that they're Sonic's favorite. Chip finds them too spicy for his personal tastes, but does admit that they're good. In the instruction manual for the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version, it's mentioned that Sonic loves chili dogs. In Eggmanland, there is a green chili dog called the Egg Dog, which isn't appetizing to either character as Chip doesn't like them, and Sonic will only gain 1 experience point from it, but this could be due to the ingredients used and how bad Eggmanland's food is in general.
 * In the first cutscene of Sonic and the Black Knight, after Merlina the Wizard summons Sonic, he falls from the sky with two chili dogs. After catching the chili dogs, he looks up to notice the Black Knight. He then eats one of his chili dogs, throws the other in the air. Then Sonic attacks and defeats the Knights of the Underworld, just before the chili dog falls on the ground. Minutes after trying to stop the Black Knight with the whirlwind Merlina created, Sonic's chili dog flew away to an unknown location. They can also be found as a food item during the game, with the description calling them "Sonic's favorite".
 * In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, under Sonic's profile, it says that he likes chili dogs.
 * In Sonic Generations, Sonic is given a chili dog as a birthday present (wrapped in a bow, no less). However, it is the first thing that is blown away when the Time Eater appears. In the ending, it flew back into his hands, and Sonic took a taste saying it's still warm.

Recipe
The original recipe was printed in the last story in the first Archie Sonic issue, titled 'Fast Food!'. The recipe is as follows:

Chili Dog a la Sonic

 * Brown 1 lb ground beef
 * Add ½ cup each of chopped onions, peppers and mushrooms (brown lightly)
 * Add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
 * Add 8 oz barbecue sauce
 * Simmer ½ hour
 * Add 1 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, oregano
 * Add 1 large can red kidney beans (drained)
 * Simmer 1 hour
 * Add hot dogs
 * Cook 15 minutes in sauce
 * Put on toasted roll
 * Melted cheese (optional)

Trivia

 * As seen in the picture above, there is a scene in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Boogey Mania", where Sonic is shown making a chili dog while wearing an apron and toque (traditional hat worn by chefs). Interestingly, in that scene, he has no gloves on. He is also shown inspecting chili in his 'chili dog inspector' disguise (suggesting some spicier chili instead of the kind Grounder was cooking) before being turned into solid stone by the Super Supreme Stopper Zapper.
 * In the Sonic Sez segment of "Too Tall Tails", Sonic mentions that he likes eating chili dogs but he also likes eating healthy as well.
 * Sonic and the Black Knight is one of two games that shows Sonic eating chili dogs. The other is Sonic Generations, in the first and penultimate cutscenes, as well as its manga, where both Sonics are seen eating chili dogs.
 * A query was asked in the Sonic Universe fan-mail service and published in Sonic Universe #4. A comment was stated "We don't see Sonic eating a lot of chili dogs anymore. What gives?" It was replied: "He's been too busy saving the world to dwell on dinner! But don't you worry&mdash;he's scarffin' down plenty behind the scenes".
 * The cover of Sonic Super Digest #7 shows Sonic in his Super form about to eat a large number of chili dogs. Tails notices and (in a reference to the magazine's title) says, "Wow, Sonic! You'll need to go Super to Digest all those chili dogs!"
 * In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails' favorite food is also chili dogs, just like Sonic, only he prefers his with cheese.
 * A commercial for Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games features an alternate ending where Sonic apparently ordered a chili dog.
 * In the Xbox 360/PS3 version of Sonic Unleashed, there are achievements featuring the chili dogs:
 * Gyro with Relish for completing all missions in Apotos.
 * Pig in a Blanket for completing all missions in Spagonia.
 * Exotic Toppings for completing all missions in Mazuri.
 * Sausage Fried Rice fo completing all missions in Chun-nan.
 * Iced Hotdog for completing all missions in Holoska.
 * Kebab on a Bun for completing all missions in Shamar
 * Ketchup and Mustard for completing all missions in Empire City.
 * Hard Boiled for completing all missions in Eggmanland.
 * Fried Clam Roll for completing all missions in Adabat.
 * The vendors in Sonic Unleashed have different types of hot dogs for each location.
 * Throughout the many appearances of the chili dog, Sonic is shown to eat them in a variety of ways. In Sonic Underground, Sonic is mostly seen tossing them into his mouth and swallowing them whole, (though there was one instance where he ate most of a chili dog in one bite before eating the last bite a few seconds later). In Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic stuffs the chili dog into his mouth and actually chews it before gulping it down. And in Sonic Generations, he eats his birthday chili dog one bite at a time and does not eat it very fast.