The Adventures of Krystal Kid: Three Pups in the tub

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Three Pups in the tub

It's time for another recipe. This is the half brother of my "Little J's Lunch" recipe I posted a while back. When I created the "LJL" lunch the major problem I had was with the Macaroni. The biggest one was that you had to make the macaroni and cheese then add in the chili cheese pups. Unless you are lucky enough to live very close to a Krystal, the time it takes to make the macaroni allows the chili pups to cool down too much. Second, who can let pups sit on the counter for the 10-15 minutes it takes to make the mac & cheese?
I wanted a recipe that could be made at any time, even sitting at Krystal, with little or no waiting. This meant no "outside ingredients." I also hadn't ever used Corn pups in a recipe. I love them, but frankly, they appear to be a "finished product" and don't obviously lend themselves to be an ingredient in another recipe. Then one afternoon it hit me. Krystal makes fabulous chili. what goes great with chili? A great crusty corn bread. And what's on a corn pup? TADA!
For this recipe, you'll need to buy 2 or 3 corn pups and a medium or large chili.

You get free oyster crackers with an order of chili. You probably wont need them, though. Our next step is to "unstick" the corn pups. My advise is not to pull straight out as it is likely you'll wind up with a hand full of corn bread coating and a naked pup on a stick. I strongly advocate the "Twist and Pull" method.

Next up we need to cut the pups in slices. you need a very sharp knife so you don't swuish the pup or remove the corn covering. About 4 or 5 slices works nicely. I eat the tiny cornbread end pieces that have no pup parts. Toss all your slices into a nice sturdy bowl.

Lastly, we pour our delicious chili all over the top of the pup pieces. Personally I'd go for some shredded cheese and diced onion on top if I have it handy.

You may need to toy with this recipe until you can get your Chili to Pup ratio down. I find 3 pups and a medium chili is a good mix. Four pups and a large chili would make a big meal. Also, the longer you let it side the more the chili soaks into the corn pup. So if you like em crispy, eat it quick!
As a side note, many people don't know that Krystal actually makes two different kinds of Chili. When you order chili as a side item or in a bowl it has beans in it and a mild flavor. When you order a chili-cheese pup or the fabled chili-cheese Krystal, they use a meat only chili. It's often called "Pup Chili" since that's mainly what it is used for. But those of us "in the know" know you can get a Chili Cheese Krystal any time you want, just ask! (The person running the register may get a bit confused trying to find the chili to add to a Krystal, though. Just tell them that Chili is listed on the "Pups menu" and they'll find it.)
Lastly, about the name. I have had this recipe ready since early December, but hadn't found a good name. There's pups and there's chili, but saying anything about chili pups would be confusing. I got to thinking that the pups were cozy in their "Corn Coats" but the irony of the fact that "Chili" isn't "Chilly" sort of made me wonder why the pups would nead heavy winter coats in a bowl of steaming chili.
Over Christmas, while visiting family, my brother and I were recalling having a Fisher-Price "Little People" toy of the "Three men in a tub" of the "Rub-a-dub-dub" variety. Suddenly it hit men: Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Three Pups in a Tub! See how nicely this ties back into the story behind "Lil J's Lunch" ? I'm A Krystal Lover