# Anybody cook hot dogs on a grill pan?



## rush (Dec 16, 2010)

I was wondering if a grill pan was a good one-stop designation for cooking a hot dog... or do I need to boil it first, and then just use the a grill pan for the grill marks?

I checked, and it says that the hot dog's internal temperature should be 160 degrees. So my question is, whether or not a hot dog can reach that internal temp simply on the grill... or it needs to be transfered to the oven, or boiled beforehand, etc.

Thanks!


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## Chef Munky (Dec 16, 2010)

Grill pan would work beautifully for your Dawgs. That one stop would work just fine.

Preheat the pan. Score the hot dogs any way you want. 4 score one side, 3 on the other. Put them into the preheated pan. Turn and cook them to your liking. When the ends open up you know they are fully cooked. They won't need to be transferred anywhere but to a toasted bun with condiments 

Munky.


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## Robo410 (Dec 16, 2010)

I often use a grill pan for hot dogs and brats. I do "steam" them in very shallow water first, a few minutes for the dogs and longer for the brats (in beer) if starting with frozen or barely thawed pups. but if they are at or near room temp, that's not necessary, (except for the brats in beer).


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## Zhizara (Dec 16, 2010)

Right on for the brats in beer, Robo.  I cook my onions in the beer first, then add the brats.  Such flavor and the leftover beer juice makes a delicious liquid for a sauce (for anything but the brats).


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## chefmac (Dec 19, 2010)

BBQ the sausages in teriyaki, leave it in colander to dry and then dip into teriyaki sauce then BBQ again~


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## rush (Dec 19, 2010)

Chef Munky said:


> Grill pan would work beautifully for your Dawgs. That one stop would work just fine.
> 
> Preheat the pan. Score the hot dogs any way you want. 4 score one side, 3 on the other. Put them into the preheated pan. Turn and cook them to your liking. When the ends open up you know they are fully cooked. They won't need to be transferred anywhere but to a toasted bun with condiments
> 
> Munky.


 
Thanks for the reply.

I was wondering what you meant by "scoring" the hotdogs. Do you mean to make an incision with the knife? I've seen some people do that, and I wondered why...

I tried googling, and it turned up "box scores" LOL

Could you please elaborate on the "scoring" part? And how deep does the incision have to be?

PS: What if I don't "score" it? How long do the dogs usually take to cook? 5 minutes both sides?


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## rush (Dec 19, 2010)

Robo410 said:


> I often use a grill pan for hot dogs and brats. I do "steam" them in very shallow water first, a few minutes for the dogs and longer for the brats (in beer) if starting with frozen or barely thawed pups. but if they are at or near room temp, that's not necessary, (except for the brats in beer).


 
Thanks robo. 

PS: If you know anything about "scoring" a hot dog, pray tell.


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## chefmac (Dec 19, 2010)

*cut a few line on on the sausages...


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## MostlyWater (Dec 19, 2010)

i would think the hot dogs would cook fine; chickien breast does & it's a lot thicker.


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## Andy M. (Dec 19, 2010)

Hot dogs are fully cooked out of the package.  Cooking them in a grill pan or elsewhere serves to heat them through and color the exterior.  That really doesn't take too long.

I know, I know, you're going to cook them fully before you eat them, "just to be on the safe side".   It still doesn't take a long time.


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## pacanis (Dec 19, 2010)

I agree with Andy. I often eat them raw... IMO they are close enough to bologna/ring bologna in their makeup, and people don't think twice about eating lunchmeat raw.
I've never used a grillpan though. I just set them right on the grate and cook them until I like the color. And I like the natural split look, though I grew up eating them scored for the most part, at least fryed hot dogs I did.


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## MostlyWater (Dec 19, 2010)

I've gotten really sick from undercooked hotdogs, Andy.


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## Andy M. (Dec 19, 2010)

MostlyWater said:


> I've gotten really sick from undercooked hotdogs, Andy.



I'm sorry to hear that.  I hope it never happens again!


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## CookLikeJulia (Dec 19, 2010)

Scoring the hotdog makes it safer to eat. As what Andy said, it is half-cooked already but not cooked fully. Just needed to cook a little more to be fully cooked, that is why some people cut it with lines to cook it faster.


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## PattY1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Andy M. said:


> *Hot dogs are fully cooked out of the package.*  Cooking them in a grill pan or elsewhere serves to heat them through and color the exterior.  That really doesn't take too long.
> 
> I know, I know, you're going to cook them fully before you eat them, "just to be on the safe side".   It still doesn't take a long time.


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## GB (Dec 19, 2010)

Andy M. said:


> Hot dogs are fully cooked out of the package.


When we went camping we used to eat hot dogs right out of the package when we couldn't get the fire going quick enough. It was perfectly safe to do since hot dogs are already cooked when packaged.


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## rush (Dec 21, 2010)

Wow, I didn't know hot dogs were fully cooked from the package. I sorta suspected that it was half-cooked, but I did a quick search and discovered most sources citing 160 as the appropriate internal temperature. That's why I came over here. You guys seem to know what you're doing. 

Thanks a lot, everybody!


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## PattY1 (Dec 22, 2010)

rush said:


> Wow, I didn't know hot dogs were fully cooked from the package. I sorta suspected that it was half-cooked, but I did a quick search and discovered most sources citing 160 as the appropriate internal temperature. That's why I came over here. You guys seem to know what you're doing.
> 
> Thanks a lot, everybody!



It is printed right on the package. "Fully cooked ready to heat and eat".


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## buckytom (Dec 22, 2010)

+1 more about hot dogs being fully cooked before packaging. but that doesn't mean they can't still go bad and make someone sick. afterall, cooked meat will spoil, just not as fast as raw meat.

that said, i've eaten many a dog right from the package, as gb mentioned, before a campfire could be started.

getting back to the op's question: my dw boils hot dogs for a minute or two before cooking them on a grill pan because it's a bit healthier. par boiling helps to remove a little of the fat as can be seen in the leftover water from the boiling step.

i prefer my dogs simply boiled, but she and our boy like them a bit crispier with the grill marks on them.

as far as scoring a hot dog, brat, or sausage goes, i would only score the ones that are already cooked before being packaged. hot dogs, brats, and kielbasi are good for that.

but sausages containg raw meat such as sweet/hot italian, or fresh chorizo (not smoked or cured) should never be scored before cooking or you will just let out all of that delicious melting fat contained within it's casing. if you do that over the grill, you'll end up with small grease fires no doubt.

don't tell my wife i said that last part...


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## Zhizara (Dec 22, 2010)

buckytom said:


> +1 more about hot dogs being fully cooked before packaging. but that doesn't mean they can't still go bad and make someone sick. afterall, cooked meat will spoil, just not as fast as raw meat.
> 
> that said, i've eaten many a dog right from the package, as gb mentioned, before a campfire could be started.
> 
> ...



I'd include kielbasa in the don't score category.  

When making kielbasa and cabbage, I found that adding the kielbasa too early and cooking it until it split resulted in tasteless meat.  

I fixed that by adding the kielbasa cut in large chunks and burying it in the pot and taking the pot off the heat, giving it at least 10 minutes in the hot liquid before serving.  (After the cabbage and potatoes were completely done.)

The cut edges let some of the flavor into the liquid, but the kielbasa tasted like sausage instead of rubber.


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## Kayelle (Dec 22, 2010)

I agree that hot dogs only need to be heated.  Yes, they can be eaten right out of the package.  That being said, I like to butterfly split the dogs and grill them that way.......nice grill marks, and they taste better to me that way. You need to hold them down with a spatula to keep them from curling, or use a cast iron skillet on top of them.


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