Hot Dog Hacks for Parties
Follow along with Summer Family Activities Week by clicking here or on social media with #SummerFamilyActivities. Better yet share you favorite summer family activities by using #SummerFamilyActivities. Or play along and add your ideas in the comments here on Tipsaholic.
A hot dog roasted over a fire or on the grill is a summer staple. But sometimes feeding a crowd needs to be quicker, easier, and tastier! Use these hot dog hacks and simple recipes to make hot dogs that will be the highlight of the table at your next backyard barbecue or neighborhood party.
Cook them in the oven
Put your oven to good use and cook many hot dogs at once. 400 degrees and 15 minutes ought to do the trick, and you can slice them and add cheese at the end for more flavor.
Slice and fill
Add flavor to plain hot dogs by slicing them lengthwise (not all the way through!) and filling the center with cheese and other goodies (like onions and peppers) before cooking. You can also wrap them in bacon!
Forego the bun
Get rid of some of the hassle of a hot dog meal by leaving out the bun! Grill your hot dogs, brushing them with barbecue sauce as you go. When they’re finished, pop them on sticks so guests can dip them in something delicious like this queso sauce.
Add flavor before grilling
If you do decide to go the traditional route and grill your dogs, you can take even the simplest variety and turn it into a gourmet bite with a few easy tricks. Start by slicing your hot dogs and marinate them before grilling. You can slice them in a crosshatch pattern or just make small cuts into the skin – either way, you’ll have the best grilled dogs in the neighborhood!
Cook them in a crockpot
A yard or house full of hungry guests is no match for a hot dog hack like this! Use your crockpot to cook all of your hot dogs at once, plus keep them warm while the party gets started. All you need is a slow cooker and enough dogs to feed an army.
Put a tasty twist on party hot dogs
If you’re looking for a tasty twist on the party dog, try these oven-baked chili dogs. You can make several at once and cook them up in the oven together, and guests are bound to love them!
Dip’em and fry’em
Try something new with hotdogs at home by turning them into party-friendly corndogs. Simply cut a regular sized hot dog in half, place it on a skewer, then dip it in batter and fry it. You may want to provide guests with convenient grab-and-go cups of ketchup and mustard.
A different take on the hot dog bun
Much of the holdup in a hotdog line can be caused by prepping the bun, so why not put the dog and bun together before the line gets backed up? Use refrigerated crescent roll dough to wrap your hot dogs and cook them in the oven, adding cheese and other hot dog toppings inside them if you like! Provide guests with a variety of condiments and watch the “crescent dogs” disappear from your party table.
Kayla Lilly is a photographer, writer, wife, and mama making a house a home in eastern Idaho. She met her mister while working at an amusement park and married him a year later after deciding there was no way to live without him. The amusement has continued as they’ve added four kids and a passel of pets to their lives while finishing college and starting a photography business. Drawing inspiration from the whirlwinds of marriage, parenthood, and the media, Kayla blogs at Utterly Inexperienced, and spends the rest of her time chasing chickens, organizing junk drawers, diapering toddlers, and photographing everyone willing to step in front of her lens.
More camping recipes:
