Meta description: With the important grilled tips listed anyone including you can turn into a hot dog hero who knows the right steps and methods to grill tasty and juicy hot dogs. Read on to find out!
Become a Hot Dog Hero: Expert Grilling Tips for Tasty, Juicy Hot Dogs
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Grilling hot dogs is one of the quintessential parts of summer in which the tradition can be traced to ages. No matter the circumstance, backyard barbeque or football tailgating, grilling hot dogs is the pinnacle of the season. It is not an easy task to grill a perfectly charred delight, it can be learned to be an expert when it comes to grilling. In this article, we will see important points and grilling tips that will turn any novice into a hot dog grilling expert.
Importance of grilling a perfectly charred hot dog
Whether you fired up the grill for a barbeque or a potluck, grilling a good hot dog is a decisive point of the event. Being the centre of the show at such events, hot dogs need to be grilled the right way.
You must not burn or dry the hot dogs as they tend to be the most distasteful. You need a juicy and tasty hot dog that will make your guest reach for more and leave a lasting impression. It’s a fun activity that is ideal for a good family time so don’t mess it up. With the help of the information in this article, you will be able to deliver tasty and juicy hot dogs to your loved ones.
Tip #1 Picking the best hot dog
This is an essential step that you need to have a piece of better knowledge. The quality and type of hot dogs are directly related to a good hot dog grill. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned expert if you don’t know how to pick or use the best hot dog. Knowing which hot dog to pick and grill is expected from anyone seeking to be an expert.
When it comes to choosing a hot dog, there are certain factors you must take into consideration. Among these factors, the pillars are:
- High-Quality Sausage
Almost all hot dogs are made of sausages. The quality of sausages plays a vital role. As a main ingredient, it needs to be free from any artificial flavours. It is highly preferred if they are gluten-free and with any artificial colours.
As to the constituents of the sausage: pork, beef, and chicken are the best sausage ingredient. Any ingredient of sausage will be as long as it’s natural and without any additives. Lastly, look for sausages from the best hot dog brand which provides low-calorie sausages which has less fat and more meat.
- Natural casing
Next to the ingredients, the casing sausage is made from an impact. It is recommended to choose a hot dog with a natural casing as they tend to have better texture. Most natural casings are made from animal intestines and can come up expensive. But, you don’t put a price on quality as most high-quality hot dogs come in natural casings.
- Brands
Almost everyone that enjoys hot dogs buys them from stores. In these stores, you will find many brands presenting their hot dogs. You should always opt for renowned brands that offer quality hot dogs. Make sure they’re budget-friendly and provide the best of the best.
Tip #2. Grilling the german hot dogs
By now you should have your main ingredient, the German hot dogs. The next step would be an obvious one, grilling the hot dogs. Among the hot dog grilling tips listed here, grilling should be the one you need to focus on the most. Whether you have high-quality hot dogs or not, if it is not done the right way, it can either make it or break the meal. To do this, you must know how to preheat the grill and choose a suitable cooking method.
- Preheating the grill
When it comes to grilling hot dogs, your grill needs to be preheated and get the grill grates hot. Uneven or burnt cooking could be avoided by taking time and preheating your grill with the right amount. This will give you an evenly grilled and perfectly charred delight.
The first step in preheating your grill would be to turn your burners to medium heat. This usually would be a temperature between 375-450 F or 190-200 C. Give the grill maximum of 10 minutes to get the optimum heated grill. It might be hard navigating around these temperatures, so don’t hesitate to work alongside a thermometer. You could also use the old-fashioned method, place your hand above the grill and if it takes less time to feel hot, it is ready.
- Choosing the right cooking method
When it comes to grilling a hot dog, you will find two cooking methods that are accepted by the mass. These two main cooking methods would be direct or indirect heating. Both are different in their ways but have proven to be efficient methods.
- Direct heating: In this method, the hot dogs are cooked directly over the flames. You will get that perfectly charred hot dogs that are tasty and juicy. When you cook hot dogs in this method, you allow the hot dogs to be grilled for a maximum of 3 minutes on each side. You will see they’re ready when you see a brownish grill mark on the hot dogs.
- Indirect heating: In this method, hot dogs are cooked away from the flames. This method is preferred by people who aren’t in a rush to get evenly grilled delights. When you grill hot dogs over indirect heat, you place the hot dogs perpendicular to flames. Give it 5-7 minutes and make sure every side is evenly cooked.
Tip #3 Toasting the buns
Hot dogs and buns are the two sides of a coin. When it comes to using buns, it is recommended to toast them before placing the hot dog. Since they are made of flour, there is a high chance of them getting soft and soggy. It would ruin what you’ve worked for so far and no one would want that.
To prevent your buns from turning soft and soggy, toast them over the grill. It is ideal to brush them over with oil or butter in a cut-side-down manner. This will add texture and flavor to the buns. They won’t take too much time as you want to avoid burnt buns. Your goal is to toast them till you get a golden and crispy bun. Your buns are now ready!
Tip #4. Experiment with toppings
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You have now chosen the right hot dogs, grilled them by either method, and toasted your buns. The remaining part would be adding toppings or add-ons. The most used toppings with grilled hot dogs would be mustard and ketchup. Choosing the best toppings would be like cooking with seasonings, they will take your cooking to the next level.
Your options aren’t limited to just mustard and ketchup. You can use chilli, jalapenos, shredded cheese, and caramelized onions. These options work well and can be used as a substitute for mustard and ketchup. You can also combine the toppings and get better results.
The important thing in choosing toppings would be knowing what complements your hot dogs well. If your hot dogs have little kick, experiment with spicy choices like mustar, jalapenos, and chilli. For an all-beef hot dog, the regular mustard is ideal. All in all, know what complements your hot dogs well.
Conclusion:
The above-mentioned tips would help anyone from a novice who is figuring out grilling or a seasoned pro looking for expert tips to enhance their skills. By following and implementing this grilling tips, you can grill up tasty and juicy hot dogs for the intended occasion.