Microwave Hot Dogs are delicious, and here’s a thorough, fool-proof way to cook them to make sure they’re safe.
Odds are, you’ve been tempted to cook Hot Dogs in the microwave without a second thought. You just put them on a place and cook them ’til they’re hot, right?
Simple as that?
Unfortunately, no, it isn’t as simple as that, and cooking Hot Dogs this way can make you very sick. Follow our easy steps to make a delicious, and safe, Hot Dog.
MICROWAVE HOT DOG
Why is this so important?
Hot Dogs come with a fun little stowaway called Listeria Monocytogenes, which is a bacteria that can not only survive refrigeration, is can survive relatively high temperatures.
This means that just cooking a Hot Dog without taking a few extra steps won’t kill Listeria and can give you a case of food poisoning bad enough to land you in the hospital or worse.
Even though Listeria doesn’t infect people as often as Salmonella or E. Coli, Listeria is the most deadly of this trio of pathogens.
The first step towards killing Listeria in your Hot Dogs is to put those dogs in water.
The water will boil during the heating process and kill off the Listeria. The only bad thing about using water is that if you don’t cook the Hot Dog at a high enough temperature, all you end up doing is contaminating the water as well.
When you pour the water down a sink, the sink can play host to Listeria for a fairly long time.
The key to preventing Listeria from settling into your food or being spread to other surfaces is to cook the Hot Dogs in their water bath for at least 75 seconds at 1100 watts. Anything at a lower time or wattage can be extremely dangerous, so don’t even go there.
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HOW TO MAKE MICROWAVE HOT DOG
- Add hot dog to a bowl of water.
- Microwave on high heat (at least 1100 watts) for 75 seconds.
- Discard the water.
- Place hot dog on plate.
- Poke with fork and microwave for 10 seconds.
- Place in bun and enjoy.
SERVE WITH
Once your Hot Dog is thoroughly cooked through, add it to a bun and go to town with toppings. While some think Hot Dogs are horrible with just ketchup, we won’t judge you if that’s what you go for (well, maybe a little.)
Some awesome toppings to try are mustard, mayo, chives, chili, cheese, onions, BBQ sauce, or even fried onions.
SAVE SOME FOR LATER
Take your Hot Dogs out of the bun and keep them in a sealable container int he fridge.
They will stay good for up to 3 days, but you want to make absolutely sure that you keep out excess moisture or air, as they can contaminate the Hot Dog.
When you’re ready to enjoy it, microwave the Hot Dog until completely cooked through and add to a new bun.
COST FACTOR
$: You can get packages of Hot Dogs and buns for fairly inexpensive at the grocery store, and you can get them in bulk to save yourself some money. Just make sure that you store your Hot Dogs in something sealable to prevent them from leaking and contaminating everything they touch. If you Hot Dogs do leak, you need to throw out any other foods they directly contacted and thoroughly clean your fridge or freezer with bleach to make sure you kill the bacteria.
Microwave Hot Dogs
Instructions
- Add hot dog to a bowl of water.
- Microwave on high heat (at least 1100 watts) for 75 seconds then drain water carefully.
- Place hot dog on plate and pierce with a fork a few times.
- Poke with fork and microwave for 10 seconds.
- Add to bun, top as desired and enjoy.
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