There are way too many ways to cook a hot dog. Not long ago, if you suggested I boil some… I would politely have found the quickest way out of that conversation. This time I simmered the dogs in beer, then popped them in the oven on the air-fryer setting.

I blogged about cooking hot dogs in 2010 when I asked how you do it, & later listed a bunch of different ways, and I like to slip them in on the New Year’s Pork n’ Sauerkraut. 2010? Hell, it only took me 15 years to get around to suggestion #3. Were air-fryers popular back then? I think it was just countertop grills.

Then again, sometimes I get weird ideas that won’t go away until they come to fruition. Hot dogs aren’t my favorite food, but they’re fun to make different every time. If not grilling, I like to cook them in the oven, especially when cooking dinner for the family & wanting a whole pack cooked at once. This time I did something different.

Man, I miss the legendary Dormont Dogs.

After you read this recipe, tell me what you’d do different, or what you like on your dogs! Oh yeah. sides too. I wanted to use corn starch on the potato wedges, but I was out, so flour it was. It crisped them up just enough to keep it interesting. I was heavy on the black pepper, so they had a bite.

Oh yeah, I cracked open a can of baked beans too.

I used ChatGPT to sort of bounce ideas around, and it helped me make a plan.

🌭🌭🌭

Wieners, ’Taters & Beans (Oh My!)

🥔 Potato Wedges

1. Prep
   • Cut potatoes into wedges, about ½” thick at the skin edge.
   • Soak in cold water 30 minutes (this pulls starch so they crisp better).
   • Drain, blot very dry. Moisture = soggy wedges.
   • Toss in a bowl with:
     • 1–2 Tbsp cornstarch
     • 2 Tbsp oil (olive, canola, or peanut)
     • Seasonings: paprika, garlic/onion powder, salt, pepper, maybe cayenne or smoked paprika for punch.
2. Cook
   • Oven air fry or convection at 425°F (both will crisp better than standard bake).
   • Spread on parchment-lined sheet, not touching.
   • Cook 25–30 min, flipping halfway.

🌭 Hot Dogs

1. Parboil
   • In a small pot, add:
     • 1 bottle/can Yuengling
     • 1 beef bouillon cube
     • ½ tsp onion powder
     • ½ tsp minced garlic
     • ¼ tsp ground mustard (optional, but yes it’ll add a tangy depth)
   • Bring to a gentle simmer. Drop in hot dogs, simmer 5–6 min (don’t boil hard).
2. Finish in Oven
   • After parboil, move hot dogs to a rack or foil-lined pan.
   • Toss them in the oven (same rack as potatoes if you can) for 8–10 min at 425°F (air fry/convection), flipping once, so skins blister and caramelize a little.

🥖 Buns + Cheese

1. At the last 2–3 min of hot dog oven time, open buns, lay on pan.
2. Add cheese slices. Toast until buns are warm and cheese is gooey.

🔄 Timing Plan

1. Start soaking potatoes → 30 min.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F (air fry/convection).
3. While soaking, prep hot dog beer bath.
4. Drain & coat potatoes. Get them in oven first (they take longest).
   • Timer: 25–30 min.
5. While wedges cook, simmer hot dogs in beer bath (~5–6 min).
6. About halfway into potato time (15 min mark), move hot dogs to oven on pan/rack.
   • They’ll need ~8–10 min to finish, which lines up with potatoes finishing.
7. Last 2–3 min: add buns + cheese.

Everything should hit the plate hot at the same time.

🌭🫘🥔

🫘 Drunken Baked Beans

A simple can of beans made rich with the leftover beer broth from the hot dogs. Deep, savory, slightly malty… it’s like BBQ beans with a secret ingredient.

Ingredients:

• 1 large can of baked beans
• ½ cup reserved beer broth from hot dogs (strained)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp mustard (yellow or Dijon)
• Optional: dash of hot sauce or crumbled bacon

Method:

Taste and adjust seasoning — more sugar if you like sweet, hot sauce if you like heat.

Combine beans with broth, sugar, and mustard in a saucepan.

Simmer low and slow (20–30 minutes), stirring occasionally, until thickened and glossy.

👉 Extra Tips:

• Flip wedges and hot dogs at halfway for even browning.
• If wedges look done before hot dogs, crack the oven door and let them hang on residual heat.
• You can reduce a little of the beer/bouillon liquid into a quick dipping sauce (mix in mustard/ketchup) if you want to go wild.
• I added the beer/bullion liquid to the baked beans with BBQ sauce… not what ChatGPT suggested.

🫘🫘🫘

Needless to say, I didn’t follow that exactly… but I did toast the buns, & made the dogs to order. Mine had relish, my son’s had fresh jalapeño from the garden, my wife didn’t want cheese, and my daughter didn’t want mustard.

I gotta buy some damn corn starch.

I used Yuengling, but I also would use Straub Amber, Penn Pilsner, Lion’s Head, or Smithwick’s. What would you use?

If you do make this, you gotta crank some punk rock Dad Shit. (The Amazon Playlist has more than Spotify.)