How do you, personally, cook a Hot Dog

[ThornGhost]

Cait, that is a dedication to hot dogs that I do not understand but unequivocally respect.

[Daikaiju]

Oh that IS nice.

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by Grignr

Drop in pan, heat water to a boil, turn off heat and cover for fifteen minutes.

This is the right answer! Grilling is best, but as a low effort alternative steaming them in a pan is excellent.

Originally Posted by Zef

wait

people boil hot dogs?

what?

When I was a kid, my mom's cousin would host a lot of parties for our extended family. Since there were a ton of kids there, she would just fill a big pot with water and dump in a few packs of hot dogs, then let them boil for way too long. We called them 'blurpers.'

Originally Posted by Meditative_Zebra

Why have a hot dog when you could have a bratwurst or a smoked sausage or something?

There are good hot dogs too! Like, Vienna Beef hot dogs are delicious.


One last hot dog cooking story: we have a 1950's hot dog cooker at our family cabin that belonged to my great uncle. Imagine a glass cube with an aluminum base and frame, and an opening in the front. It has a horizontal central pole that rotates, and sticking out of it are long metal toothpicks. The top of the cube has a heat source, and you put the dogs on the spikes, so they cook as it rotates. Also, there's a covered space on top to heat up your buns while the dogs cook. I've searched for images online, but I haven't been able to find anything similar. I'll have to take a picture the next time I'm up there.

[Cait]

Originally Posted by ThornGhost

Cait, that is a dedication to hot dogs that I do not understand but unequivocally respect.

It was probably under 5 bucks at Goodwill, and my brothers enjoy hot dogs with enough frequency that it sees use.

Originally Posted by Patrick

One last hot dog cooking story: we have a 1950's hot dog cooker at our family cabin that belonged to my great uncle. Imagine a glass cube with an aluminum base and frame, and an opening in the front. It has a horizontal central pole that rotates, and sticking out of it are long metal toothpicks. The top of the cube has a heat source, and you put the dogs on the spikes, so they cook as it rotates. Also, there's a covered space on top to heat up your buns while the dogs cook. I've searched for images online, but I haven't been able to find anything similar. I'll have to take a picture the next time I'm up there.

Edited to respond to this:

One of these things?

[Patrick]

Yeah, it's one of those!

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Oh, I love hot dogs, but here's the thing: Not all hot dogs are created equal.

If dealing with a cheaper kind, that's what I typically prefer to use for boiling, including with in Mac & cheese or the spaghetti trick shown before. It's great when you don't feel up to cooking, too; just set it on a medium heat and let it boil for a while (bonus points if you can use The now-flavored "hot dog water" to cook more later).

I'll let it go from 20 minutes to half an hour, sometimes, while I do something else. It's especially good if you get the kind that plump, swell, and explode -- lots of crevasses for your toppings, like mustard and slaw.

If I'm dealing with a higher-quality dog, I prefer to use my skillet and roll them occasionally until they're crispened a little all over.

Sometimes I'll cut them down the middle and flatten them out for more of a traditional sandwich-style, such as A&W's regretfully discontinued Whistle Dog or the bacon-cheese dog they serve at Five Guys. That's a good way to do it if you want more crisp-to-meat ratio than keeping them whole will get you.