The Hot Dog Hack That Will Take Your Buns To The Next Level

There are a lot of different ways to cook up hot dogs: on the grill, boiled in broth, water, or beer, in the oven for the perfect snap, or even in the air fryer (with their buns). But only one way gives you the opportunity to take your buns to the next level after they're done cooking: frying them up in a pan. Food Republic had the opportunity to ask Tim Tobitsch, founder of Food Truck Insight, about a sweet little hack that will make your hot dog buns absolutely divine."Pressing a hot dog bun into a pan that was just used to prepare a hot dog adds a crispy-edged texture," he told us, and he described how it also gives the bun a savory flavor element to what would otherwise be a boring piece of bread.

Tobitsch added that the bun may absorb some fat from the hot dog if the hot dog casing has burst or if the hot dog is skinless to begin with — and if the hot dogs have left any char in the pan, the buns can pick that up, too. "Regardless," he said, "the penetration of steam deep into the bun and the essence of the hot dog's seasoning will create a bun that has culinary depth." For timing, Tobitsch advised between 10 and 20 seconds over medium heat — long and hot enough to get a good crisp on the bread but not enough to burn it.

While Tim Tobitsch prefers to cook and eat natural casing frankfurters that he does not want to split during cooking, you could actually butterfly the naturally cased wiener (cutting it vertically) or spiralize or score it, before cooking it so that more meaty surface area touches the pan, thereby giving your buns more flavor to absorb when you toast them. If you don't opt to split your hot dogs, though, Tobitsch acknowledged that it means you won't end up with a lot of hot dog fat in your pan (though it's good for the wieners themselves since every bite of the 'dogs will literally be bursting with flavor).

"However, it also means that your bun could benefit from a little extra fat in the toasting process," he said, recommending butter, cream cheese, or mayonnaise spread on the bun prior to toasting in order to give the buns a little assist (you could also drop a pat or dollop directly in the pan while it's still warm). For an extra boost of bun flavor, toast both the inside and outside, and be sure to press them down so that, as with the hot dogs, the most surface area comes into contact with the pan.