How Long You Should Boil Frozen Hot Dogs For Juicy, Flavorful Meat

If you need a way to store your hot dogs because you bought too many, freezing can safely extend their shelf life for months. This isn't ideal to do for long periods, as it can mess with the meat's texture. However, in the short term, it means a tasty and affordable meal whenever the desire for cased meat strikes. Freezing your hot dogs also means altering your cooking. Even though most grocery store hot dogs are pre-cooked, you want to make sure they are perfectly heated through for the best meal. Boiling them for an appropriate amount of time might just be the best way to achieve that.

If you are boiling a hot dog straight from frozen, you are looking at eight to 10 minutes for them to heat up completely. That's about double the time needed for a hot dog you've defrosted. But what is really important here is that when you "boil" hot dogs, you should really be simmering them, as a full boil risks overcooking them and leeching out a lot of their flavor. So don't be tempted to heat the frozen meat at a higher intensity to speed up the process. The few minutes you might save won't be worth a floppy, flavorless dog.

It may seem strange, but boiling hot dogs for too long can dry them out. After all any meat will start losing moisture when the temperature gets too high. Heating hot dogs to a temperature between 150 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit is usually the ideal range for avoiding moisture loss, which is why it's better to simmer than full-on boil (which brings the water to 212 degrees). You still need to watch the time, of course.

Do it right, and this approach can turn frozen hot dogs into the best versions of themselves. Compared to other ways to cook hot dogs, simmering liquid applies a more gentle heat. When dealing with frozen meat this is a good thing because high heat risks burning the exterior before the cold interior is heated all the way through. Well-simmered hot dogs can also plump up and get even more juicy if they aren't overcooked. For a tasty upgrade, you can swap out your water for beer, which will add flavor. And if you miss the hot dog char provided by other cooking methods, don't fret. Once you simmer your frozen dog you can toss it under the broiler for a minute or two to get some nice browning without overcooking it. At that point, you'd never guess your hot dogs had started out frozen.