You Can’t Beat a Grilled Dog

The grill has debatable qualities for some foods. For example, I really prefer burgers made over a flat-top grill. You can achieve a more desirable thickness and an addictive crunch that just isn’t possible over a charcoal grill. However, when it comes to dogs, nothing beats that smoke and radiant heat.

So if you have the time and space, throw your wieners on those grill grates and get some charcoal color on them.

All-Beef is Best

There are a lot of different compositions to a hot dog, including pork, beef, chicken, and blends (the most common being a chicken-beef blend). However, beef is best. Yes, this is subjective, but really only slightly so. Poll after poll (including many blind polls) shows that the vast majority of people prefer all-beef hot dogs. On top of that, professional chefs overwhelmingly prefer cooking with them. They have the perfect fat content to get some good color while cooking, and they carry such good flavor on their own that the meat practically stands on its own without a need for toppings.

When I lived out of the country for a couple years, most hot dogs I had were chicken or chicken-beef blend. And they were flavorless. Locals had some wild topping combinations they would share with me, and on more than one occasion they made fun of American hot dogs with their Wonder bread and paltry spreading of mustard. But you know what? The hot dogs back home were better. Because the all-beef dogs are better.

Experiment with Brands

Don’t just go with the cheapest brand, the biggest brand, or the most popular brand that your mom or best friend have been swearing by for years. Have some fun, buy a few different brands of hot dog, and figure out which one you truly like best.

The more hot dogs you try, the more you realize there are vast differences in texture, consistency, and flavor. Some hot dogs are incredibly garlicky (a la Hebrew National and Kirkland brands). Some have a consistency suspiciously similar to cottage cheese (thanks, cheap and crappy chicken-beef blend Oscar Meyers).

Here is my top-three listing of hot dogs:

1. Oscar Meyer Angus Beef Ballpark Hot Dogs. These to me are the gold standard hot dog (at least as far as readily available at most grocery stores might go). My only gripe with them is they don’t have enough snap. But boy, they have a wonderfully meaty consistency and a rich, beefy flavor.


2. Nathan’s All-Beef Hot Dogs: Oh baby, get in my belly! These beat the texture of Oscar Meye’s Angus Beef by just a hair and are quite good. The only thing that puts them in second place for me is they don’t brown quite as evenly, so they’re just a tiny bit less reliable and consistent. Most of the time (in Manhattan), Nathan’s dogs are prepared in seasoned hot dog water.


3. Hebrew National: To be honest, these hot dogs are just a little too garlicky and a little too greasy for my palette. But they still come in at number three when you consider their awesome texture and consistency and their all-beef taste. I also love how they’re kind of thin, which lets you get a better skin-to-meat ration, which then transfers to some delicious, crispy browning over the grill.

Those are only my top three. You should try your own!

Cross Cut for Extra Maillardization

Grab your hot dogs and cut diagonal slits all up and down them going both directions. That’s a cross-cut hot dog. Now cook it over some good radiant heat, and you know what you’ll get? Addictive, crunchy crispiness and a hot dog just begging to be soaked in some high-quality mustard and pickle juice!

“Maillardization” refers to the process of Maillard browning, which is where the volatile proteins in your food undergo a molecular change that renders a deep, almost nutty flavor, super aromatic smells, and a gorgeous, crispy brown crust. And technically “maillardization” isn’t a word. Some guy on Reddit once got mad at me for saying it. But you know? I just typed it. So it’s a word now. Enjoy some maillardization.

Steamed Buns are Better than Toasted Buns

This is super subjective and I encourage you to disregard me at your earliest convenience. But honestly… I love steamed buns. The thing about bread on your hot dogs is you want it to be substantial enough that it holds all your meat and toppings without falling apart, but subtle enough that it doesn’t get in the way (or, ideally, doesn’t even make itself noticed). Toasted buns scratch up your mouth and distract from the meat and toppings. Steamed buns, when done right, practically dissolve in your mouth.

Have Fun with Toppings

Hot dogs are enjoyed in so many ways that I’ve lost the ability to even count them. I love the Chilean-style (that they oddly call “The Italian”), which is tomato, avocado and mayonnaise. I also love leaning a little Chicago and slapping a nice pickle spear onto my dog. I’m never disappointed by a hot dog with only ketchup. And of course it’s hard to argue with mustard and sauerkraut. Maybe the strangest hot dog I ever had used a Twinkie as the bun and only topped it with some spray-on cheese. It was shockingly delicious.

The point is a finished hot dog is a great time to get creative. Sure, you can be pretty standard and just squirt some ketchup and ballpark mustard on that thing. Honestly, I won’t argue with it. But it’s incredibly fun to make your signature hotdog with some freeze dried onions and barbecue sauce. Just think about it.

    Matthew Christensen
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2023
    Email the author! matthew@dvo.com