When eating at home, how do you cook your hot dogs?
I have one of those hot dog steamers that looks like a dog and it barks when they’re done cooking.
W H A T
I didn’t know I needed that in my life.
I mean, if you’re a fan of single use appliances…
I am not. But I do love me some tube steaks.
broiled
@Riesen Boil them in water, keeps them from drying out. If I’m really in a rush I’ll microwave them but they tend to get weirdly bitter.
Me alone- cut almost in half, unfold, skillet, and make a hot dog sandwich.
With others- grill.
Yep. Boil is the best result. You can either serve directly from the water, or if you want to get fancy you just need to toss them on a grill for a minute to get some grill lines.
Nice part about the water is that you don’t have to serve all of them simultaneously like if you threw too many on the grill.
Cook?
You mean you don’t just eat them cold straight outta the package?
Tier 1 - grill or cast iron pan until moderately blistered
Tier 2 - microwave from frozen, 45 seconds for 1, or 1 min for 2
Tier 3 - boiled in beer, preferably with some pierogies
Buns: toasted>steamed>room temp
I don’t cook, I make my wife do it.
…which is to say my hands do the cooking.
Air Fryer. Its not quite as good as grilled, but still great and more convenient. Quicker than boiling and better than microwaving.
Boiling tends to be my go-to. I can’t fire up the whole grill for just a single serving of hot dogs usually.
Air fryer I’ve found works alright to give sausages the kind of crispy exterior that they get when grilled, but I haven’t tried it with hot dogs.
Grilled. If it’s too hot (I’m in Arizona) we have a cast iron pan with ridges that kinda fry-grills them. Also always grilled or toasted buns.
I could never boil hot dogs. They’ve already had such a rough life, it just feels insulting.Put them in a flat heat resistant vessel, like a casserole dish. Pour boiling water over them untill covered. Wait a minute or three. Sausages are warm.
Preferred options
- Grilled
- Broiled
- Microwaved
- Boiled
Microwave them for 45 seconds. Or, put it on a minute and cut it off right before the end.
Pan cooked, grilled, or beer boiled.
We don’t do dogs often, so there’s usually a hot debate followed by careful negotiations as to which method gets used. My wife likes them best either grilled or pan cooked for the browning that occurs. I’m a beer boil fan that enjoys a good grilling. Our kid is a hard core grilling devotee. My dad is neutral, but leans boiled sometimes.
One thing we all agree on is that boiling them in water is sacrilege.
Most of the time, the pan cooking is so much faster and isn’t as wasteful of resources. The gas grill uses way more gas getting up to heat than the carbon steel pan does. And the pan doesn’t need anything other than heat and the thin coat of oil to get the job done, unlike the can/bottle of beer that goes in with boiling.
So we just throw them in a pan and cook until well browned. You get most of the flavor that grilling gives, with less gas (there’s no way I’m setting up and burning charcoal for hotdogs only).
Sometimes, I get ornery and tell everyone they can either cook their own dinner, or eat the dogs I’m boiling in beer. Which is my version of careful negotiations
I don’t eat hotdogs
