Give Your Hot Dogs Maximum Flavor With This Unexpected Ingredient

Summer is the season for roasting hot dogs over an open flame around the campfire. But, it turns out there's an unexpected way to cook your hot dogs for maximum flavor — in butter.

Although hot dogs already tend to be a fairly fatty meat option, that's not to say that they won't taste better when cooked in rich butter. When you use butter to make hot dogs, they become infused with butter's signature satisfying flavor. All that butter adds a creamy mouthfeel and leads to a juicier bite, too.

Unfortunately roasting hot dogs over the campfire isn't conducive to slathering them in butter. But, there are plenty of different methods to cook your hot dogs using butter to add extra flavor. Whether that's frying them in a pan, making them on the grill, or using a combination of steaming and searing. Plus, there are additional ways to infuse even more butter flavor into your hot dogs once they're cooked.

When it comes to how to actually use the butter to make hot dogs, the simplest method would be to simply fry them in a pan or on a griddle with this ingredient. This gives you a rich, buttery sear on the outside of the hot dogs. The one downside to this method is that butter's smoke point is much lower than that of oil. To get around this, you can always cook the hot dogs with a dab of oil first and then, right before you're ready to take them out of the pan, add the butter. You can also increase the butter absorption of the hot dog by scoring one side of it or slicing it down the middle. 

Another option is to brush the hot dogs in melted butter before popping them on the grill or in the pan. If you use the grill, they will have less butter flavor (since some will drip off), but more smoke. For those who want an easy alternative, you can also steam the hot dogs in a small amount of water. Once most of the water has evaporated off, add a dollop of butter to finish, which helps the dogs to blister and gives them a golden, salty exterior.

For even more butter flavor you can baste the hot dog in a generous amount of butter as it cooks in a cast iron pan. This technique involves tilting the pan and spooning the melted butter over the hot dog several times, infusing it with moisture and flavor. You can also pour the melted butter over the hot dogs for serving. For even more flavor, add ingredients to your butter. Try making compound butter with garlic and fresh herbs, such as parsley or chives. Other options might be thyme, piney rosemary or a woodsy sage. 

Don't just focus on the butter you cook your hot dogs in, either; you can also lightly fry your hot dog bun in a bit of butter to crisp up the edges. Whether you go with regular butter or an herbal infusion, butter is the key to cranking up the flavor on your standard summer hot dogs.