The Absolute Best Way To Cook Your Hot Dogs Requires Minimal Effort

While hot dogs might seem like one of the easiest meats to prepare in a pinch, there are loads of ways they can go wrong. From split skin to bland insides, messing up a hot dog feels disappointing, especially because they're often pre-cooked. But cooking this slim sausage doesn't have to be so hard. If you're looking for one of the easiest and most effective ways to cook a hot dog, look no further than a broiler.

When we ranked our 12 favorite ways to cook hot dogs, we found that using the broiler was the best option on the list. It's similar to using an oven, but it's faster and yields a surprisingly delicious result. It'll give you a caramelized skin without rupturing, heat the hot dog all the way through, and take almost no time to clean up or prepare.

While broiling won't give you the same charred taste that some people miss when they can't cook their hot dogs in a grill, it's hard to argue with the results. The skin has the perfect snap, the insides stay juicy and flavorful, and you can cook them in a batch as large as the container you broil them in. There's even room to experiment, unlike some other methods that are a bit more rigid, like boiling or grilling.

Broiling is a simple and convenient process that can make even the most underrated store-bought hot dogs delicious. First, turn on the broiler or set your oven to the highest setting, which should be at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit. While you let the oven heat up for five minutes, lay out however many hot dogs you're cooking onto a tray lined with aluminum foil. Then, set them under the broiler, as close as possible to the top of the oven, and cook for about five minutes. You don't need to flip the hot dogs because they're thin enough, but you can if you'd like to.

You can also cook them on a cooling rack while they're under the broiler, circulating the heat underneath them. They won't drip much juice given that they're wrapped in the casing, but the casing will create a crust that might stick directly to the surface of a pan or foil if they're cooked directly on it. This crust is part of what makes this method so good, providing the perfect texture for every bite with hardly any effort.

You can play around with the method to determine exactly how you prefer your broiled hot dogs. Try slicing them slightly along the top, ensuring they don't split while they cook, but be careful not to let them dry out. You can also experiment by adding different ingredients like butter to your hot dogs while they cook. Regardless of how you cook them, the only thing left to do is bun up, apply your condiments of choice, and enjoy.