Although, hotdogs are best served grilled, pan-fried, steamed or boiled, there are many reasons you should not use the cooking method in preparing it. But before we discuss why you should not cook hot dogs, it is very necessary we understand the food hotdogs and its comprising ingredients.
Hot dogs or hotdogs are cooked sausage, normally made from beef or a mixture of beef and pork, that is served in a sliced bun or roll. This food item is popular in many countries of the world, more especially in the U.S.
Ingredients
The sausage portion is typically made from finely ground and emulsified meat trimmings, often including organ meats.
Popular seasonings
1. Salt.
2. Curing ingredients like sodium nitrite
3. Spices like garlic, paprika, and black pepper.
4. Casing is basically a thin, cooked or smoked cellulose or collagen wrapper.
How to cook
1. Hot dogs are served grilled, pan-fried, steamed, or boiled.
2. They can sometimes be wrapped in bacon or topped with various condiments, for example; mustard, ketchup, relish, onions, chili, and cheese.
Popularity of Hotdogs
Hot dogs are chiefly American food, which is associated with baseball games, cookouts, and fairs/carnivals.
Hot dogs are less expensive, convenient, and are made available in large quantity in restaurants, food carts, and grocery stores.
Eating of hot dogs has been a longtime tradition in many cultures, with different regional preparation styles.
Below is why you should not cook hotdogs
1. The high level of heat present in boiling water causes the proteins in hot dogs to tighten up making it tough and rubber like. This in turn reduces how well the hotdog can be chewed of enjoyed.
2. Hot dogs may tend to leach out or lose its seasoning flavor because of the high heat of boiling water thereby making it tasteless. Hot dogs often taste less boiled compared to other cooking methods.
3. In addition, hot dogs take longer time to be ready when boiled compared to other cooking methods like; grilling, pan-frying, or even microwaving and gets cold quickly, requiring that it should be re-boiled.
4. Furthermore, the intense heat and water pressure on the boiling hotdogs can leave it murdered chunk by chunk thereby removing its original shape and making it unattractive to be consumed.
Best practice
For a perfect and tasteful consumption, other cooking methods (dry heat techniques) like grilling, pan-frying, or baking are recommended for hot dogs, except one consciously wants to develop a new hotdog recipe that requires only boiling the hotdogs or specifically looking to quickly heat up hot dogs rather than achieving the best taste and texture. These dry heat techniques help maintain the texture, moisture, and flavor that makes hot dogs enjoyable.
