Grilled Hot Dogs For A Hot Dog Bar • {Video} • Two Purple Figs

Summer calls for our Grilled Hot Dogs every year, and when there’s a party, we turn them into a Hot Dog Bar! Super fun and easy way to entertain where everyone can assemble their own. We’re sharing a video of some our favorite hot dog bar combos over the years–try them and share your own too! 

For the record, we have to mention that we LOVE grilled hot dogs all summer long. However, our absolute go to way of cooking hot dogs would be these Air Fryer Hot Dogs. Hand down quicker, less mess, and just as tasty. The downside to the air fryer is simply that you can’t find that many at once, depending on your basket size. 

Since it’s summer and gorgeous outside, we are all about the BBQ and that char!

Why We LOVE Grilled Hot Dogs

• The taste of the char form the BBQ is impeccable!
• They cook in minutes, just 2-4 minutes per side depending on the side you choose.
• Grilled Hot Dogs have a crisp skin with a perfect texture and so juicy on the inside.
• They can be dressed up endlessly so we’re making a Hot dog bar for that!
• You can store leftovers and reheat in the air fryer to taste just as fresh.
• This meal is perfect  for entertaining, it’s a crowd pleaser with kids and adults. It’s also fun to assemble your own.
• Probably the most affordable way to host a party is by making these grilled hot dogs and a hot dog bar to go along!

Hot Dog Bar Ingredients 

These are the ingredients we used to make the special combo of hot dogs we served, and you should swap around to make your favorite!

• Hot Dogs. You can use any size and any type.brand that you prefer or your family loves. You can use sausage as well to make these. We used some spicy chicken hot dogs today as my kids love them. 
• Hot dog Buns. We’ve shown a variety of buns here, either with sesame or without. Also size of buns will depend on the size of your hot dogs.
• Cheeses. Since we’re making a few combos, we needed cheddar cheese, blue cheese and feta cheese.
• Pickles. We have pickled cucumbers, pickled peppers and pickled jalapenos for the hot dog bar.
• Veggies. Minced onions, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, avocados, green onions, celery, jalapenos and sliced tomatoes.
• Sauces. Your favoirites, we have hot sauce, hummus, sweet chilli sauce, Spicy Mayo, Garlic Parmesan Sauce, Tahini Sauce, Blue Cheese Dressing.
• Condiments. Ketchup, Mayo , Mustard
• Fruits. Grilled pineapples which we use for our Hawaiian combo.
• Salads. A spicy coleslaw prepared already like this Fish Taco Slaw except with hot sauces added to it. You can be exotic and try our Corn Coleslaw Recipe or Coleslaw with Kale, Apples & Pomegranate too!  SO GOOD!

How to Grill Hot Dogs

1. Start by preparing the hot dogs. To maximize crust and flavor, use a sharp knife to slash each one into diagonal slits. Be careful not to go all the way through. 
   
2. Season lightly with salt, pepper and olive oil. It’s best to use a sheet pan where you can have the seasoning and oil well distributed. Just season and shake well the pan and you’re done.
3. Place the hot dogs in a medium grill, and cook for 3 minutes per side on average. You may need more or less depending  on the size, but on average 3 minutes is a great starting point. Make sure you close down the lid so they cook evenly.
   
4. The grilled hot dogs should look blistered and golden, and you’ll notice the slits you made using the knife have expanded. 

How to Make a Hot Dog Bar

Start by gathering all the ingredients above. You need a variety of cheeses, veggies, sauces, condiments and ready made salads, and grilled fruits. Have your hot dog buns ready and matching the size of your hot dogs.

You can have each person assemble their own by placing small tags to indicate what the toppings are, or you can assemble a variety of combos as we did below. Check on some of our favorite speciality grilled hot dogs here.

Buffalo Hot Dogs

Chicago Style Hot Dogs

• A combo of: pickled peppers, sliced tomatoes, Garlic Parmesan Sauce or honey mustard, minced onions, jalapenos.

Nachos Style Hot Dogs

Mediterranean Style Hot Dogs

• A combo of: Tahini Sauce, diced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, black olives, onions, feta cheese, Hummus.

Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs

• A combo of slaw like the Fish Taco Slaw dressed with an extra dash of hot sauce, some green onions, sliced jalapenos and grilled pineapples.

Classic Grilled Hot Dogs

• A combo of mustard (honey mustard or dijon), ketchup, diced onions, pickles or cornichons and a grilled hot dog. If you wan to fancy it up, drizzle some Garlic Parmesan Sauce.