The Best Grilled Hot Dogs

Our favorite methods for turning out juicy, lightly charred dogs.

Overhead view of two hotdogs on a plate

Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Why It Works

  • Poaching natural-casing hot dogs and then finishing them on a hot grill keeps them moist and juicy while getting just the right amount of char.
  • Using a poaching liquid of beer and hot dog onions or sauerkraut infuses the franks with lots of extra flavor.

There's rarely a day in the summer when there aren't hot dogs in my refrigerator. No matter what fancy thing I may be grilling, they're always a welcome fallback for when a recipe goes wrong or I have guests over and need a little extra meat to throw on the grill.

Hot Dog Selection

3 retail hot dog packages: Nathan's, Hebrew National, Dietz & Watson New York Brand.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

The first step to grilling the best hot dogs is picking the right ones. We did a taste test here a few years back to find the best national hot-dog brands, but brand isn't the only consideration.

First, there's the type of meat. When I talk about hot dogs, I'm always referring to all-beef franks. Sure, there are pork, chicken, and turkey dogs out there, but none of those taste as good to me as beef. In my experience, beef is the only meat that can stand up to classic hot-dog seasonings, like garlic, onion, paprika, mace, mustard, and coriander, and still maintain its bold, meaty flavor.

A package of Niman Ranch uncured beef franks.

Serious Eats / Robyn Lee

You also have the choice of cured or uncured hot dogs. Cured hot dogs are made with sodium nitrite, which extends the shelf life, helps prevent nasty forms of bacteria, and gives the meat a reddish hue. Curing is pretty standard in hot-dog making, but some fear those additives for health reasons (I'm not one of them), so uncured dogs have been gaining traction in recent years. Many of these uncured brands will advertise "no nitrates or nitrites added," but that doesn't mean they have none at all. Instead they may contain nitrates (possibly even in larger doses) from natural sources, such as celery, which provide some of the benefits of regular cured dogs. *

A package of Sabrett and Nathan's hot dogs.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

The final choice is between skinless franks or those in natural casings. Skinless dogs are cooked in a synthetic casing that is removed before they're packaged, and is what you find on most shelves these days. While hot dogs in natural casings are harder to find, I'm going to be frank (don't let that pun give you whiplash!) and say you're doing yourself a disservice not to try to track them down. Hot dogs stuffed into sheep's casings have that snappy shell that, in my mind. makes a hot dog truly great. Natural casing dogs from Nathan's are easy to find in the summer in New York, and as soon as I notice them beginning to disappear after Labor Day, I buy a bunch of packages and freeze them to get me through the winter.

How to Grill a Skinless Hot Dog

Close-up of a skinless hot dog getting browned on a smoking grill grate.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Because hot dogs are sold fully cooked, it may seem like all you need to do is put them over a hot fire until they're sufficiently heated through. That certainly works, but it also creates a suboptimal end product. I tried grilling both cased and skinless hot dogs directly over freshly lit coals and the results spoke for themselves.

A malformed, skinless hot dog that has been grilled. Superimposed text reads: "Dry & Shriveled Outside."

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

The skinless franks looked plump and juicy while grilling, but once removed from the heat, they deflated and shriveled up. The center of the sausage was still moist, but around the edges it began to dry out and had a papery, almost leathery exterior that added chew instead of snap.

Close-up of a browned skinless hot dog on a grill. The hotdog has been scored at half-inch intervals on the diagonal.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

To prevent these unsightly and undesirable shriveled hot dogs, I've been slashing skinless franks for years. This entails making a few cuts into two opposite sides of the hot dog before grilling. Then, when on the grill, these slits expand open, which allows the heat to reach the center of the sausage more quickly, resulting in a shorter cooking time. Skinless hot dogs cooked this way stay plumper and juicier and don't suffer the same shriveling of the skin.

A spiral-cut skinless hot dog, grilled and sitting on a cutting board.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

You can take this method one step further and spiral cut your hot dog by skewering it and making one long, spiraling cut along the entire length of the sausage. Lots of people love this method, but to me, the slashing technique is quicker and better. Sure, the spiral has a cool appearance and you get more crispness by increasing the hot dog's surface area, but it's also easier to overcook and dry out.

How to Grill a Natural Casing Hot Dog

A grilled, natural-casing hot dog that has been cut in half. The cut interior of both halves are facing the camera. Superimposed text reading "Juicy" is linked by an arrow to the center of the hot dog. Text reading "Not as Juicy" is linked by an arrow to the area of the hot dog just under the casing.
This cased hot dog burst on the grill. Note how the exterior of the cross-section is less juicy than the center.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

For cased dogs, I take a different approach. When cooked whole over direct heat, they fared better than the skinless, with the casing generally helping to protect the meat from drying and shriveling. But a small percentage of them burst and let essential juices leak out.

I wouldn't slash cased dogs, though, because those slits can further expand and tear during cooking. So, to make the absolute best hot dog I could, I turned to an old article of Kenji's on the science of grilling sausages.

An aluminum roasting pan, sitting on a grill, filled with a bubbling, reddish-orange mixture for poaching hotdogs.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

In that article, he found the best method to be simmering the sausages first in a flavorful liquid over indirect heat until cooked through, then quickly searing them over direct heat. I totally get how this is best for fresh, uncooked sausages, but hadn't considered whether it would work for hot dogs as well.

Natural casing hotdogs floating in the aluminum pan filled with poaching liquid.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

I finally gave it try, setting up a small disposable aluminum roasting pan filled with Sabrett's Onions in Sauce mixed with a can of beer. I brought that mixture to a simmer over direct heat on the grill, then slid it over to the cool side, added natural-casing Nathan's hot dogs, covered the grill, and let them cook until heated through. I then plucked the hot dogs from the liquid and grilled them over a hot fire where they charred super fast, without a single casing splitting.

A charred natural-casing hotdog on the grill. A charred patch of skin is labeled "Quick Char" and "No Bursting" is superimposed on the grill grate.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

These were certainly the best of the lot that I made that day, juicy from edge to edge, with a great snap and a light char. I'm totally sold on this method for all hot dogs, including skinless ones, though I may sometimes still slash the skinless franks if I don't have enough room on the grill for a hot-dog hot tub.

Variations on a Theme

Four hot dogs in buns arranged on a white platter, each topped with a different combination of condiments.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

All I really need to enjoy a perfectly grilled hot dog is a squeeze of ketchup (I'm slowly inching over to the mustard side, but childhood habits die hard), but I decided to branch out by experimenting with a bunch of creative toppings. If you're looking for some delicious new ways to top your hot dog, check out my eight awesome ideas here.

May 2014

This recipe's headnote was written by Joshua Bousel, while the recipe was developed by Daniel Gritzer. This recipe was amended to allow you to use a cast iron pan instead of requiring you to use a disposable (and less ecologically sustainable) aluminum one.


This article also originally stated that sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite are added to hot dogs as curing agents. It has been updated to reflect the fact that sodium nitrate, while allowed in dry-cured meats, is not allowed as an additive in hot dogs.

Recipe Details

The Best Grilled Hot Dogs

Active 25 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 cups stewed hot-dog onions or 1 (1-pound) package sauerkraut

  • 2 (12-ounce) bottles lager or light ale

  • 2 pounds (about 16) natural casing all-beef hot dogs (such as Boar's Head or Dietz & Watson)

  • Hot dog buns, for serving

  • Mustard, for serving

Directions

  1. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.

    Overhead view of charcoal grill

    Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Place stewed onions and juices (or sauerkraut, if using) in a 12-inch (or larger) cast iron pan and add beer. Nestle hot dogs into onions (or sauerkraut).

    Overhead view of hot dogs in sauerkraut

    Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Place cast iron pan on hot side of grill and cook until simmering, about 7-10 minutes. Slide to cooler side of grill. If using a charcoal grill, cover grill with vents over the hot dogs. Cook with all vents open until hot dogs are heated through, about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. If using a gas grill, simply lower the cover (there will not be vents).

    Two image collage of hot dogs cooking on grill in sauerkraut

    Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Remove lid. Using tongs, remove hot dogs from onions or sauerkraut and place directly on cooking grates over hot side of grill. Cook, turning occasionally, until well browned and crisp, about 3 minutes total. Return to cast iron pan. Toast buns over hot side of grill if desired. Serve hot dogs with buns, mustard, and onions or sauerkraut.

    Overhead view of hot dogs on grill

    Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Special Equipment

Grillchimney starter, and 12-inch cast iron pan or 10-inch square disposable aluminum pan.

Notes

If using a disposable aluminum pan in step 3, it may require less time to heat the onions or sauerkraut to simmering.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
311 Calories
17g Fat
26g Carbs
11g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 311
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 21%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 30mg 10%
Sodium 847mg 37%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 10%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 5mg 24%
Calcium 92mg 7%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 245mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)