Try piercing them and boiling them in beer.
Outside of grilling, it’s the only way to do it.
I just eat 'em raw out of the fridge.
Oh! I thought hot dogs ‘n’ eggs were a Gundy family oddity.
It’s a German dish, called Hoppel Poppel.
You can substitute a bit of leftover lean meat if you’re worried about cholesterol…or bacon, if you’re not. A little dill in it isn’t bad, either.
**How do you cook your hotdog? **
Corduroy pants.
As usual, Ike has taken a perfectly respectable trash thread and turned it into a gourmet one. 
Pity me. ZackClem requires his dogs in a hurry. Therefore Nuked. With ketchup. And keep ‘em comin’.
KatieClem requests(ever-so-politely “yes, please”) her dogs split with cheese, no condiments.
NickClem, the uberfanatic, will only eat a dog that is fried in butter, on a roll, with just the right amount of condiment-dejour, on a bun that fits the dog, and gawd-help-you if there is a black spot on the dog.
I hate to even think of introducing them to “beenie-weenies.”
:gasp: {billyQ} I thought I was the only one…
Steamed. Occassionally fried. Never nuked. Never turkey-dogs. And certainly never ketchupped.
We’ve got a handy-dandy plastic weenie-nuking thing. It pierces the dog, and can hold 4 at a time. No mess, no unnatural curling, and fairly easy clean-up. I’m not a big fan, but the kid likes ‘em done that way. On the rare occasions when I get a hankerin’, I’d prefer grilled or broiled in the toaster oven.
If I’ve got the time, I’ll:
- place several diagonal cuts across the surface, baguette style.
- boil them for a few minutes. Long enough to get rid of some of the grease (resulting in hot-dog broth).
- then grill or fry in butter until black.
Yum.
And if I’ve really got the time, I’ll whip up a batch of onions like you get at the NYC carts (can’t remember the name).
That’s prime eating.
Try Hebrew National dogs–they are one of the best tasting hotdogs I’ve ever had (second only to Sabrett), are kosher, and supposedly don’t contain any byproducts.
One of those, either on the grill, or pan-grilled with a little water and butter, smothered in deli mustard and sauerkraut. Mmmm…
I haven’t read the whole thread, but…
The best way to cook hot dogs is over a charcoal fire. But I can’t be bothered to buy a grill and pay who-knows-how-much for the charcoal just to have one hot dog, so I usually just nuke 'em. Boiled dogs are good, but microwaved dogs are just as good and they’re quicker. Who cares what they look like?
Choice of dogs is important. I always buy Ralph’s Private Selection Old Fashioned Franks, the store brand from Ralph’s supermarket. Very importantly, they have a natural casing that snaps when you bite into it. Gotsta have that natural casing! The other thing is that they have a “zing” to them; not hot’n’spicy, but flavourful. I highly recommend them. They’re at least as good as a regular Jody Maroni hot dog, and may be better – certainly better if you consider the price!
BTW: I heard a few weeks ago that men who eat more than two hot dogs per week have a higher risk of diabetes. (I’ll bet that people who eat a lot of hot dogs probably have poor eating habits in general though. Everything in moderation, eh?)
I electrocute them. Really.
Oh, if I have the inclination, or am already BBQing, then that’s the way to go. But for the convenience, Green Mile Dogs can’t be beat.
I have this thing called a “HotDogger” (even has a little dachsund emblem on it) which was made by Presto. It’s a plastic tray with a cover. The tray has two aluminum rods with six spikes on each side. You impale your dogs, slip the cover over it (the electric cord terminates on the cover at two connectors that slip over a terminal on each rod.
Then, all you do is ask the hot dogs if they have any last words, and juice their asses until they smoke. Mmmmm. Nothing like a little capital punishment to whet your appetite.
Reminds me of back when my dad and I built a jacob’s ladder as a science project. One of the demos we did was hang a piece of hotdog between the terminals using some cord (Well insulated) and turned her on…we called that portion of the demo ‘What happens to electric hotdoggers.’
There are only two ways to properly cook a hot dog.
Electrocution: ya dont need a fancy presto hotdog cooker for this. Take a lamp cord and a couple of screws(preferably stainless steel). Wrap the ends of the lamp cord around the screws, put the screws in either end of the hot dog, plug into the wall. JUST DONT TOUCH THE HOT DOG while its plugged in, and make sure its not sitting on anything metal.
My favorite way, the best way, is deep fried.
First you freeze the hotdog solid
then drop into the deep fryer unitl it floats. That way, you can keep your hotdogs frozen until ready for use, and just break one off when you need it.
Pan-fried, with about six diagonal slices across the top. That’s, of course, if we’re not using the grill.
And I like mine so burnt on the outside you have to ID them by their dental records.
Grilled. Men’s cooking should have open fire whenever possible, and even a remote possibility of explosion (I have a gas grill) is good. Charcoal better, much more work and time. When I want to eat, I want to eat.
Brown deli-style mustard only. yellow you have to use the whole jar. cheese, onions,kraut, taosted roll optional.
Not into Chicago style dogs.
Best way: cooked over fire
Fast way: microwaved (frozen to too-hot in 90 seconds)
Rarely, sliced raw on bread with ketchup (tastes like bologna)
Saurkraut, brown mustard, relish are especially nice.
For the kids, I slice them lengthwise first - I think the little round shape is just too close to trachea-shape for my comfort.
-B
You neglected to mention that the HotDogger makes the freaky franks taste like burnt wires, especially the ends, which are impaled on the prongs of the cooker. Yech!