Hot Dogs in a Deep Fryer – the Platonic Ideal of Machines at Gas Stations
When I first heard someone admiring their “deep fryer” and touting its ability to cut calories, I almost immediately lost interest. I just don’t care about things like that. The second time I heard someone discussing a deep fryer, they explained that it was just a small, powerful convection oven, and it interested me a little. Only for the third time – when Daniel Gersio described the capabilities of the device for preparing snacks on this very site – I was convinced that I needed it.
So far, my purchase hasn’t made my diet any healthier, but I never expected it. (This would be too much to expect from an inanimate object; real change must come from within.) Yes, I can use a little less oil when frying potatoes , but its main benefit is how quickly it heats up, how easy it is to clean, and then as it is ideal for preparing greasy, salty snacks and food leftovers. I’m especially fascinated by what he does with hot dogs.
Imagine a hot dog at your local store or gas station. Imagine a sausage tumbling forward but never moving, its skin taut, blistered and shiny as it sizzles in its own fat on hot metal cylinders. Now imagine that you can recreate the same sausage in five minutes at home, without using rollers. This is the reality of an air-fried hot dog, and it’s wonderful.
To cook plump sausages that put the 7-Eleven to shame, all you have to do is set the fryer to 385 ℉ and let the dogs cook for five minutes. The rapidly circulating super-hot air draws the fat out of the sausage, making its skin look like a roller dog’s skin, only better because – unlike those mysterious rollover meat pipes – you know exactly how long your hot dog is cooking (five minutes) … Depending on the size of your fryer, you can cook several at once. My Instant Pot Vortex Mini can hold six dogs or, if I’m dining alone, one dog and one bun. (I grease the bun with a little butter or mayonnaise before setting it aside from the hot dog, and it comes out so golden, but still a little soft.)