It kind of struck me as sort of strange - in a weird funny way - when I went to a chili party at a friend's house and the hostess didn't know how to cook hot dogs. She's over 40 and didn't know how long to cook 'em on the stove. She'd boiled the hot dogs for over 20 minutes and they'd split and lost all their juices and color. They were pretty bad.
Then I found that in this day and age of microwave ovens and the like, a lot of people didn't know how to properly make a boiled hot dog on the stove top.
After years of making hot dogs either on the grill, or in the microwave, or on the stove, I've found the best tasting hot dogs are the ones where the natural juices are still inside the casing after they cooked. Too many times on the grill the hot dog will split and lose a lot of its juiciness while they're cooking. In a microwave, you have to slit the hot dog before you cook it or it will explode in there. But cooking in water on the stove top is the best way to keep the natural juice flavor from coming out.
Actually, I like to add something to the water - a beef bouillon cube. Here's how I cook a couple hot dogs:
Pour 1 quart water into 2 quart pan
Add beef bouillon cube and turn heat to high and bring to boil
When water comes to boil, add two hot dogs. Continue to boil for 5 minutes.
Pull from water after five minutes and eat 'em!
It's that easy. The beef flavored water gives the hot dogs an even better taste as it clings to the casing.
Try it next time you make hot dogs. Just don't cook the life out of them.
Comments