How Long to Boil Hot Dogs (2024)

FAQs

How Long to Boil Hot Dogs? ›

Hot dogs should be boiled for around four to six minutes. But if the hot dog is frozen, it should be boiled for nine to 10 minutes. You can choose to boil your hot dog in water or beer, depending on your preference.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add 1 hot dog. Boil uncovered for 4 to 6 minutes, until the hot dog has plumped up on all sides. Remove with tongs and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Too much water intake will cause the skin of hot dogs to crack and rupture, which results in those mushy textures. To add insult to injury, over-boiled hot dogs also result in off-putting grey colors and bland tastes since the hot dogs won't have any salt and/or preservatives left inside.

Hot dogs are fully cooked when you buy them from the store. Look at the label and it will say “fully cooked”, so there is no need to cook them before eating them. When you put them in water to heat them, they will heat up but floating is not an indication of “done ness” nor of a specific temperature.

How Do You Know When Your Hot Dogs Are Cooked? You'll know your hot dogs are done grilling when they start to expand and get grill marks. You want to remove them before they start sputtering and spitting out liquid. A sputtering hot dog is an indication that it's finished cooking and may be a little overdone.

Though they may look pink, most hot dogs are actually already cooked and technically ready to eat right out of the package. This means that boiling them for ages before throwing them on the grill is probably unnecessary, and it can suck the flavor right out of your dogs.

Although hot dogs are fully cooked, those at increased risk of foodborne illness should reheat hot dogs and luncheon meat until steaming hot before eating, due to the threat of listeriosis.

Standard Hot Dog Condiments

Mustard (e.g., yellow, Dijon, whole grain, etc.)

In the US, the term hot dog refers to both the sausage by itself and the combination of sausage and bun.

Don't overcook them

Many people don't know exactly how long a hot dog should be cooked, and end up with dry, tough dogs that don't taste nearly as well as they do when more experienced cooks prepare them. A hot dog takes about 5-7 minutes to cook on the grill, and it should be turned occasionally.

Do you put hot dogs in before or after boiling? ›

You need to put hot dogs into a pot with cold water if you want to cook straight out of the freezer. After that, place them on medium heat on the stove. After boiling water, reduce the heat and let sausages boil for up to seven minutes.

Although the microwaved hot dogs were tastier than the boiled ones, I don't think the time I spent wrapping and heating the franks was worth it. They lacked the crispy exterior of the air-fried and grilled hot dogs.

When it comes to NYC hot dogs, the colloquial phrase "dirty water" means that the water in the vat has been seasoned with various spices, giving it a dark and cloudy appearance. In doing so, the vendor imparts new levels of flavor to a pretty ubiquitous American food that can otherwise seem mundane.