Whether plain, grilled, fancy, filled with condiments or seasonings, nothing fits a slit of a sliced bun like a hotdog.
It is important to note the sausage itself can be referred to as a hotdog. In any way you cook a hotdog, it is a heat-and-eat common delicacy that can be prepared in our homes.
This article will help you know how to cook hotdogs in toaster oven. This is preferred method. It is easy and renders crispy results.
Not too long ago, we had very few hotdog variations. These days, walk into any food store and you will be overwhelmed by the varieties in the market. From the common Hebrew National, and Oscar Mayer through wieners’ from Bar S, Applegate among others.
Truth is you can make yourself a hotdog from the comfort of your kitchen and even end up saving a few bucks in the process.
But easy as that sounds, there are certain factors to consider when bringing them back home to cook. Appearance, taste, seasoning balance, and even size (length) of the hotdog are some of them.
In Short: To prepare hotdogs in a toaster oven, preheat it. Make small cuts in the hotdog for even cooking and put it in the preheated oven. If you do the right placement you can get a grilled effect too. You can also bake buns to go along.
The article tells the process in further detail.
How to Cook Hotdogs in Toaster Oven?
Its really no rocket science and trust me, it is easier to toast them than to grill them on charcoal or to fry them in a pan.
Preparing a Plain Hotdog
After you have identified and purchased quality hot dogs from the market, the next step has to be to either cook, broil, or grill them in your toaster oven. For the best results, the following steps are recommended.
1. Make Small Laceration
It is important to make small lacerations through the length of the hotdog sausage. The small cuts allow thorough and consistent cooking as the steam escapes simmering the dog. In the case of precooked hotdogs, this step can be left out.
2. Prepare the Trays
You may decide to use either an oven tray or oven racks. But whatever the selection you make, make sure you cover the appliance with an aluminum foil to prevent damage.
3. Preheat the Oven
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using an oven tray, it should be in the oven during this time.
4. Place the Hot Dogs
When the toaster oven reaches the desired temperature, place the hotdogs in the oven tray perpendicularly with spaces in between. Then put it back in the oven cavity. When using the rack, it is important that you pick the dogs using tongs, placing them carefully on the preheated rack oven.
5. Set The Timer
Set the timer to 10 minutes. This does not necessarily mean it is the precise amount of time that always works. The process can take slightly more or slightly less time, depending on how you want the hotdog cooked.
6. Flip Them
Occasionally use tongs to flip the hotdogs for even cooking. You will notice that hot dogs prepared in a rack oven have attractive lines like those on a grill.
7. Wait for them To Brown-up
In the end, the sausage hotdog browns and starts becoming crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. This means your hotdog is ready.
8. Remove Them
At this point, you can either remove the hotdogs from the oven or reduce the amount of heat to a minimum temperature to keep them warm or cook them some more.
Hotdogs can be served with accompaniments or by themselves. If you begin with readymade or baked buns, you can make a bun hot dog.
Baking Hotdog with Buns
To bake hotdogs with buns, it is important to gather all the ingredients and have them at your arms’ reach so as to avoid delays that can result in awe-ful dogs.
The hotdog sausages should be prepared using the above-outlined procedure, either freshly baked or readymade buns, cheese toppings, cooked onions (optional) condiments, and seasonings.
You can add other flavors and toppings of your choice so long as the taste is impeccable.
1. Preheat the Oven
Preheat the toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The foil aligned oven tray should be inside the oven during this time.
2. Place the Buns
When the oven reaches the desired temperature, remove the pan using kitchen gloves to avoid burns. Align the buns side-by-side and pack them tightly to avoid tipping. After that, slice the buns in the middle, add cooked onions, and then place the ready hotdog sausage on top and sprinkle cheese toppings.
3. Set the Timer
Cover the tray with an aluminum foil and set the timer to 45 minutes, after which you should remove the oven tray. The toppings should be melted, and the bun browned on the top with a soft inside.
4. Serve Them
You can then serve the hotdogs putting the condiments and seasoning at this point to enhance the flavor. Enjoy your hotdog!
Read more: Best Toaster Ovens with 500 Degrees Fahrenheit
Tips
- The small slicing on the hotdog is important to prevent bursting from the trapped moisture. If you do not desire to have the slicings, reduce the cooking time.
- Turning the hotdogs is essential to avoid uneven cooking or overcooking on one side.
- To make stuffed hotdog sausages, you can cut from the top to bottom and cook them while facing down. After the inside is ready, you can flip the hotdog and add your preferred toppings. After that, cook for some time till ready.
- Different hotdog brands have different qualities and cook in different ways. The amounts of fats and fillers are different in various brands. For example, some cook and wrinkles form on the surface while others dry up within a few seconds into cooking. Such brands cooking time should be cut by half.
What is Hotdogs Made of?
Over the years, people have tried out a large number of ingredients while preparing hotdogs.
There are different varieties of hotdogs in the market, and to know what is in each brand, you need to look at the ingredients statement imprinted on the packing papers.
The different hotdog flavors are as a result of unique recipes used by the different companies in the food industry. Although most are made from skeletal meat from different edible animals, the trimmings are finely grounded and salt added, resulting in a sticky texture.
Some water is also added so as to have a homogenous texture. And if you have wondered where the pink-colored varieties come from, that’s a result of adding nitrites. In addition, nitrites function as conservatives and keep off harmful bacteria.
How Should it Feel Like to Bite Into a Well-Cooked Hotdog?
A snap! You may be familiar with that chomping bite into the hotdog that’s often very satisfying. It should not be soggy or soft. A good hotdog audible case burst is fulfilling when you bite into, but it should be thoroughly cooked or grilled to avoid much chewing.
When it comes to cooking hotdogs, ovens do a perfect job. A toaster oven can do exactly that to produce a blend of scrumptious, spicy, and smoky hotdogs. And if you choose the hotdog with buns, you can also decide to bake the bun too.
Sometimes the ready-made buns in the shop are dense, have an artificial taste, and have added chemicals to prolong shelf life.
You can prepare fresh dough which is versatile as it can be used to make hamburger buns and dog buns. You can then bake the buns in a toaster oven, making them fresh, soft, and flimsy. Such buns can easily dissolve between your taste buds.
Read more: Best Small Convection Toaster Ovens
Conclusion
When hotdog cravings kick in, it is not necessary to go to the shop and have a readymade one as you can make one in the comfort of your home. This article has outlined how to do that with minimal effort. Even if you didn’t know this article taught you how to cook hotdogs in toaster oven.
Though a countertop appliance, a toaster oven is a relatively big appliance that can hold more than one hotdog, making it easy to prepare a good number. You can either cool your cravings by having all prepared hotdogs or invite several people over to enjoy homemade dogs.
FAQs
1. How long to cook hotdogs in toaster oven?
Cook, rotating occasionally, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until heated through. Each hot dog should have three to four diagonal slices about 1/4-inch deep.
2. Do hotdogs need to be heated?
If using frozen hot dogs, boil for approximately 8 minutes. **Note: hot dogs are normally already cooked when purchased. All that is required is to reheat them. This will assist in the eradication of any bacteria that may have begun to form.
3. What is the healthiest way to cook hot dogs?
By far the finest way to cook a hot dog is on the grill, Sidoti asserts. The grill enhances the flavor and renders them smoky on the outside while remaining hot and juicy on the inside.
4. Are hot dogs already cooked?
They are. Although hot dogs are thoroughly cooked, persons at a higher risk of foodborne illness should reheat hot dogs and luncheon meat until boiling hot before eating to avoid contracting listeriosis.
5. Is boiling hot dog healthier?
Boiling the hot dog helps to fluff it up and removes some of the salt. Most hot dog experts would argue that this results in a soggy hot dog that lacks flavor. Steaming is the second procedure. This helps to plump and keep the dog moist, but does not impart a smoky, grilled flavor.