This 2-Step Trick Will Give Your Grilled Hot Dogs The Perfect Snap

There are many ways to cook hot dogs. You can microwave hot dogs to perfection in under a minute, bake a big batch of hot dogs in the oven, or dip them in batter and deep fry them Nashville hot style. If you want, you could even eat hot dogs raw (they taste like bologna), since the meat is already precooked. (The United States Department of Agriculture does advise heating them up as this will minimize the risk of you falling victim to a foodborne illness.) For some people, however, the perfect hot dog needs to have that charred taste you can only get from a grill. While grilled hot dogs are all well and good, the outsides can blacken and dry out before the insides are heated all the way through. The solution to this problem? Poach them before you grill them.

Poaching your hot dogs gets them up to the optimal interior temperature — the perfect degree of doneness for a hot dog is 155 degrees Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering — before they even go on the grill. That way, all you need do is grill the hot dogs for a few seconds in order to char them. It may seem kind of wasteful to grill them for such a short time, but it won't be any trouble if you're having a barbecue and are already cooking hamburgers or corn. One person, who called this the "reverse hotdog" technique, posted on Reddit saying, "This poached way makes them plump and crispy, takes a little more effort but [is] worth it."

One question you may have at this point is why poach the hot dogs when you can boil them? Boiling, admittedly, is a lot easier, since all you need to do is wait for the water to get all bubbly (no need for a thermometer; we all know what boiling water looks like), then drop in the dogs and wait for three to six minutes. (Poaching, on the other hand, requires more precise temperature control.) The reason why poached hot dogs are preferred, despite the increased difficulty, is that boiled hot dogs can easily become overcooked and flavorless.

If you're planning on grilling your hot dogs and want to try this poaching technique, heat a pan of water to 155 degrees Fahrenheit then add the hot dogs, lower or turn off the heat, and let them sit for 10 minutes. (If you've turned off the heat entirely, you may want to cover the pot so the water doesn't get too cool.) A longer poaching time shouldn't do the hot dogs any harm. After all, New York City's famous "dirty water" dogs stay plump and juicy for who knows how long in their warm water bath.