Before Grilling Hot Dogs, Take This Simple Step For 10x Better Flavor

Grilled hot dogs are a summertime icon with a smoky flavor profile that suggests fireworks and long, sunny days. A backyard barbecue isn't complete without these salty, savory vibes alongside mustard bottles and all the other ideal condiments for a hot dog. But what if you could take an extra step to really knock those franks out of the ballpark? We have a little trick to upgrade this all-American food: marinate hot dogs for at least 15 minutes before they go onto the grill and watch the flavors explode. Home chefs who have tried this technique recommend four to eight hours for an even more saturated flavor. 

Score each hot dog before it goes into the marinade to help the liquid soak into every bit of the meat. Some home chefs cut horizontal slits along the length of the hot dog to create more surface area for the marinade to soak into. Others create a shallow crosshatch pattern of cuts along one side of the hot dog. For a fancier presentation, score your hot dog with a spiral pattern. Use a skewer to hold the hot dog in place, spinning it slowly as you slice.

Marinades vary as much as scoring methods. You can soak a hot dog in anything from beer and Dr. Pepper to Sriracha and Chick-fil-A sauce (here's what Chick-fil-A sauce is made of). Marinades can be as easy as a two-ingredient blend — bottled salad dressing and barbecue sauce make a great instant marinade, for example. Both contain acidic ingredients like vinegar, along with sweet ingredients like molasses and fruit juices that soak deep into the meat and cling to the surface. You can even add a splash of pineapple juice to this mixture for tropical notes, or toss the bottle entirely and make your own salad dressing to use as a marinade with extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and chopped apples. 

A DIY barbecue marinade also does wonders on hot dogs — created with soy sauce, brown sugar, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder. An easy, yet mighty three-ingredient steak marinade would do the trick as well. 

Online recipes for marinated hot dogs have a few common ingredients. Various kinds of mustard and vinegar are popular, as are Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, onion powder, brown sugar, and garlic powder. Many recipes also incorporate a spicy element into the marinade using cayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, ground black pepper, sesame chili oil, and buffalo sauce.