My vegetarian brother hovered over the range, looking at a package deal of raw beef scorching canines that he graciously deliberate to cook dinner for the remainder of us, his omnivorous household (he was consuming Past Brats). “What do I do with these?” he requested, and I chuckled to myself at his naiveté.
However two days later, my meat-eating, hot-dog-loving buddy requested me the identical query, and I noticed: Does nobody really know cook dinner scorching canines?
To begin with, most processed scorching canines are precooked, so that you gained’t seemingly give anybody meals poisoning if you happen to serve them chilly, straight from the fridge in all their slippery, rubbery glory. (Reheating them, nonetheless, does be sure that you’ll kill any listeria that would probably be lurking.) However you shouldn’t try this.
The best scorching canine is heated up till it’s good and plump on the within and golden (and even charred) on the skin. Nevertheless, if you happen to ask somebody about one of the simplest ways to organize a scorching canine, it is best to prepare for a struggle. Few folks agree on whether or not it is best to grill them, pan-fry them, microwave them, roast them within the oven or boil them. You may even spiral-cut them or cook dinner them up into creepy little octopuses. Meals writers have examined each which-way within the title of science, however there’s nonetheless no consensus.
Nevertheless you need to cook dinner your canine, there’s a easy method for every methodology that it is best to grasp earlier than cookout season approaches. Verify them out beneath, ranked from our favourite to least favourite strategies.
1. Pan-Frying (beginning with an excellent steam)
This ensures a plump inside and a crispy exterior, and permits you to management the extent of golden brown on the skin. Don’t let the phrase “frying” idiot you ― there’s no oil concerned.
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Put half an inch of water in a frying pan and let it come to a simmer on medium-high warmth.
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Add the new canines to the pan, just a few at a time, and pop a lid on the pan for about 2-3 minutes to allow them to steam. If the water boils off and the underside of the pan is dry earlier than the 2-3 minutes are up, simply add some extra water, just a little at a time.
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After 2-3 minutes of steaming, take away the lid from the pan and let the water boil dry. Now roll the new canines round for a couple of minutes to get them browned on all sides.
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2. Grilling
This’ll provide you with nice char marks and a pleasant smoky taste.
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Flip in your grill. You need one facet of your grill to be hotter and one cooler.
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Begin cooking the new canines on the cooler facet of the grill (this prevents the outsides from burning too shortly). Prepare dinner them for one minute on both sides.
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Transfer the new canines to the new facet of the grill till they attain the colour you need.
3. Oven-Roasting
This methodology is good if you happen to’re making an enormous batch for a crowd.
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Preheat your oven to 400 levels Fahrenheit.
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Put scorching canines on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil (this makes cleanup tremendous straightforward!) and cook dinner for quarter-hour. They’ll sizzle and begin to flip brown, so regulate them till you get your required consequence.
4. Microwave
The oldsters at Leite’s Culinaria have shared a vital scorching canine microwaving trick that makes use of a paper towel. To microwave a greater canine, simply wrap it in a paper towel earlier than nuking for 30 seconds at 80% energy. Masking it with a paper towel holds within the steam making certain a plump, juicy canine. Simple and scrumptious.

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5. Boiling
Simply don’t do it. As the oldsters at Nathan’s Well-known say, “Honestly we just don’t recommend it. We didn’t back in 1916 when Nathan Handwerker started it all, and we still don’t today. When you boil a Nathan’s, all that special flavor rushes out into the water. And let’s be frank: who wants to eat a watered-down hot dog?”
(However if you happen to insist, it is best to carry your water to a rolling boil and cook dinner the new canines for 5-6 minutes.)