How to Cook the Perfect Hot Dog on the Grill
It’s summer guys, which means you’re prickly heat and you’re going to work even though it’s a really nice day and grill hot dogs! The humble sausages may have been invented in Germany, but they have become a distinctly American food—944.3 million pounds of hot dogs were sold in U.S. stores in 2020, and even more were consumed, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Board . at ball games, gourmet restaurants and prisons.
Let me start this guide to making amazing grilled hot dogs on a note of disappointment (I like to start everything on a note of disappointment): while I set out to discover some previously unknown nuances that will make your grilled hot dogs sing , I only found out if and there is such a nuance, I could not reveal it. Whether you season it with high quality seasonings or slice it into a spiral, in the end a hot dog is just a hot dog. This immutable hot dogism is the greatest strength and terrible weakness of sausages.
How to fry hot dogs like royalty
Part of what makes hot dogs great is that they are easy to make. You can boil them, toss them in the microwave, air fry them, pierce them with a fork and cook them over an open fire in slabs, sous vide , or just eat them straight out of the package like a caveman. But the best cooking method is baking. A little charred on the outside, thanks to the Maillard reaction , enhances the flavor, and you’re usually outside with friends and loved ones while you’re making it, making any meal tastier.
Here’s how to fry hot dogs the right way.
- Make sure your grill is clean and non-stick. You can spray it with a non-stick spray like Pam, or wait until it’s hot, dip a paper towel in canola oil or peanut butter, and run it over the grate. However, use tongs. Long so as not to get burned.
- Preheat the grill. We used a propane grill, set all burners to about 3/4 power, closed the lid, and let it heat up for 15 minutes or so. It was about 350℉ when we put the dogs in. If you are using charcoal, make sure that the area for initial heating is not too hot. Check out this article for information on setting up two zones on a charcoal grill and many more details on grilling.
- Put them on indirect heat. The hot dogs are already cooked straight out of the package, so at this point you’re just heating them up, so put your dogs on indirect heat, away from the hottest parts of the grill, be it the grate you see in the picture. above or away from coals. Let them heat up for 5-7 minutes or so, turning them as often as you remember. If you are using giant dogs, give them another two minutes or so. There is no exact number, because the grills are different and the dogs are different, but you will know that they are ready when the ends start to pop a little.
- Roast them and mark. Now that they’re hot, move your dogs to the hottest part of the grill and position them so they’re left with diagonal grill marks. (That’s the idea anyway. We didn’t manage to get any painterly grill marks, no matter how hard we tried.) Marks or not, you want slightly cracked, blistered leather on your franc. Chefs and gourmets call this “back-frying” and it works with both filet mignon and sausages. I guess my Michelin star is in the mail.
- Toast a bun? Some people like to toast the buns a little, but not me. I like soft, spongy hot dog buns, so the buns should be steamed . (Heh, “steam your buns.”)
- Don’t overcook: The most common mistake when grilling hot dogs is also the worst: overcooking. If you leave them on the fire for too long, they will shrivel and dry out, or worse, end up with a burnt skin that tastes like charcoal.
What is the best hot dog for grilling?
For this experiment, we tested a variety of widely available dogs—chicken and meat dogs, turkey dogs, meat dogs, kosher meat dogs, giant, skinless, and giant skinless dogs from Nathan’s, Farmer John, and Oscar Mayer—all different varieties of dogs. the dogs we tried were cooked on the grill in much the same way, however, without the skin they were dried a little more.
We have not tried soy dogs or other lean dogs because they are very different. We didn’t go to the butcher shop for really expensive sausages or buy the cheapest hot dogs. All of our dogs were ok but nothing special, in keeping with the soul of the hot dog itself.
In the end, our panel of four sausage eating experts were unanimous in their opinion that beef hot dogs were better than any other variety, and that the combination of beef and chicken was the worst. We split evenly between large and standard sized dogs – it ultimately depends on your meat bun preference.
To cut in a spiral or not to cut in a spiral?
If you want more fun with hot dogs, you can cut them in a spiral before cooking. Our panel agreed that spiral-cut hot dogs are slightly tastier than non-spiral sausages due to the extra surface area available for browning. They get a little more “grilled” flavor, and the seasonings fall into the cracks as a bonus.
Whether it’s worth it depends on what kind of person you are. Someone might say, “I’m going to make the best hot dog I can out of this, so of course I’ll roll them up.” I’m more like, “It’s just a hot dog, man; don’t get out of the loop.”
Here’s how to cut them in a spiral, if you choose:
- Pass the skewer through the dog.
- Hold a sharp knife at an angle to the dog and roll it. Try to keep it straight, but if you’re like me, yours will look like a serial killer who’s been hacked to death.
- Give a knife to someone who has sleight of hand and let him do it.
- You can make a second spiral inside the first for a barbershop effect if you want an extra extra.
- Grill them the same way you would uncut hot dogs.
What toppings for hot dogs?
I’m sure you already have a favorite hot dog topping, and you’re probably well aware of the variety of things you can put on top of a hot dog, so I won’t bore you with advice like “try the mustard!” I’ll make one suggestion though: fried onions. If you saute some onion in vegetable oil and butter with a pinch of salt and put it on your dog, you get the best possible hot dog topping – it’s unobtrusive and doesn’t detract from the overall hot dog. your sausages are like sauerkraut but add texture and je ne sais quoi to your tubular steak.
A Quick Note on How Disgusting Hot Dogs Can Be
When we got down to cooking these dogs, everyone in our blue ribbon hot dog group was thrilled, ready to spend the day slurping on different kids hot dogs (and beer). The excitement didn’t last long. The final consensus was: “Hot dogs are really disgusting if you eat more than one of them.”