Hot dogs galore


 
R

Russell McNeely

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This Sunday, I'll be cooking about 200+ hot dogs for our Church's annual "friends and family day" on the 22.5" kettle. I'll probably only have about 1.5 hours to cook as I have to help out with some other things that morning as well. I'm sure some of you have cooked hot dogs galore before. What's the best way to cook this many dogs? I was thinkng maybe indirect for a while and then sear over direct if time permits (I'm not sure how many I can get on the grate at one time though.) Any thoughts?
 
That's a lot of dogs! My thought would be set up 1/2 the grill direct. you could then keep moving from direct to indirect. I'm thinking you would be lucky to get 25-30 dogs on at a time. They'll burn quick if left over coals.
 
Gee Russ, that's a bunch of dogs! In our youth sailing program, I am frequently involved in grilling mass quantities of hot dogs for ravenous kids coming off the water. I'm with Paul; you won't get many more than 25-30 on the grill at a time. Good thing it's just dogs as all you really want to do is heat them through and get some tasty grill marks, maybe even a bit of char on them. It will take a while to get that many done, but I think 1.5 hrs will be OK for you. Do them direct and make that grill hot and keep a close eye on them! Work systematically from top to bottom and left to right so none get neglected and burn. Keep 'em turning!

Here are some items for you to consider if you haven't already:

Do they all 200+ have to be ready for your service, or can you cook some while serving done ones? Helps avoid cold dogs with fewer in the holding pattern!

Will you have warming pans to hold them in? Those disposable catering pans at Smart & Final and elsewhere work well.

Don't panic! They're just hot dogs and it's really hard to mess them up really bad!

I'll bet you'll have help and that will take the stress off right there.

Good luck and have fun!
 
I just did a cook of 120 hot dogs for a Men's Ministry event at our church. I used my 22.5" kettle and 3/4 full chimney of Kingsford. With the chimney lit, I dumped it evenly onto the charcoal grate and grilled over direct heat. It worked out great, but you need some help.

I had 1 person putting hot dogs on the grill as I removed the finished ones. As hot dogs were ready, I pulled off the grill and put them in a aluminum pan where another guy would put them in the buns. He then stacked the hot dogs in the pan and put the plastic top on them. This steamed the buns slightly. The pans were rectangular aluminum roaster pans with clear plastic domed top ($2.50 at Walmart) and I only needed 2 or 3 of them.

Hot dogs cook fast and are nearly impossible to mess up, but you do have to keep them turning. Be sure to use long handled tongs.

Here is how my schedule went:
Started chimney at 10:25 am
Put chimney of charcoal in grill at 10:40am
Put first dog on grill at 10:45am
Last dog off the grill at 11:15am

Hope this helps, let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks for the expert advice! I really like the setup you used Barry. I may try something very similar myself. My wife will be helping me for sure and maybe I could get one more person to help as well.
And Linda, you're right. Certainly no need to panic as they are just hot dogs. I guess my main concern was having enough time to get 'em all done. I don't handle working under pressure too well
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. But I don't have to have them all done at once; just enough to get everybody started eating and I can continue cooking.

Well thanks again guys and gals. I really appreciate it! I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
I like Barry's idea and think that would be a good system. How about using two regular Webers? You can fit at least fifty or more at a time indirect at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes without opening the lid. When they plump and split they are ready. That's how I do Smoke Dogs, just don't add any smoke since some people might not like it. This will also work in the WSM and will fit even more.

It sounds like you will be making them during the main service and lunch will be served immediately afterwards. During the Summer we have hot dog fellowships all the time after the Sunday evening service. Our college students always do the cooking though. I would love to see pictures of the event. I'm sure you will do a great job Russell!
 
Russ, if I were there to help, i'd eet every other dog so the whole grillin' process would fly by!
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butt, that's just me.
 
Originally posted by Barry McCorkle:
I used my 22.5" kettle and 3/4 full chimney of Kingsford. With the chimney lit, I dumped it evenly onto the charcoal grate and grilled over direct heat.
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I think this is your best bet too. I would put 1 layer of coals over entire grate and cook medium heat direct. This will give you good throughput and not overcook. You just dont want them charred and split open.


Mass hot dogs are barely worth the charcoal and effort IMHO. For that many dogs a couple crockpots or a big stockpot to simmer/steam is easier. People just cover the dogs with ketchup and mustard anyway.
 
You've nailed my approach. Using enough charcoal to cover the great evenly so there were no hot spots and all dogs cooked evenly. Also, I wanted the hot dogs to be cooked fully, but not split and charred since that causes shriveling.

As far as the steamer pot (turkey fryer), I considered that method right up until the night before. But, the deciding factor, as always, was the smell of the grill. This was an outdoor event, so grilling the hot dogs fit in naturally. Of course it wasn't much of a contest between the two methods, grilling always wins out with me.
 
If they "plump when you cook'em" won't they shrivel after they are pulled? I love when they are plump and start to split especially with lots of smoke. Just me I guess.
 
Well, I just got home about an hour ago and everything went fine. Barry, I went with your approach more or less. I lit a full chimney of kingsford and spread out over half the charcoal grate. I cooked directly over the coals (about 20-25 dogs at a time.) I ended up using the Church's grill though instead of mine just for the sake of convenience. They have a Brinkman (probably one somebody gave them). It's not in the best of shape, but it has quite a bit of cooking surface so it worked pretty well. I had one person helping me. As soon as one bunch of hot dogs got done, I would just move them to the indirect side and my helper took them off the grill and put them in a cooler lined with foil. It worked great! I poured the hot coals in the cooker about 11:00 a.m. and we finished up about 12:20 or 12:30.

Sorry, no pics. I didn't even think about it
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Shaun, I'm with you. I like my dogs to plump and start to split. Yummmmm.

Barry, grilling always wins out with me too when it comes to hot dogs. Just love the flavor of a good, plump, charred hot dog.

Jim - if I do this again next year, you can come down and help me out. We'll throw on a few extra's and have a little snack. Then we can eat again with everybody else
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Thanks again for help everybody!
 
Russell, I'm glad it all worked out! Thanks for letting us know how it went. People always appreciate a good grilled hot dog and it's always worth the effort.

Did the full chimney of Kingsford do all of the cooking that you needed or did you have to add more?
 
Congratulations on the succesful cook Russell! I trust everyone had a great meal after a great message.
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Thanks everyone.

Barry, the one chimney of lit Kingsford was all I used for the cook. One thing I did like about the Brinkman was it had a charcoal grate the can be raised or lowered by turning a crank on the front of the grill. Towards the end of the cook, when the fire started to die down, I was able to raise the charcoal grate up closer to the meat and have hot fire again. Pretty nice (still wouldn't trade it for my Weber of course.) But yes, the one chimney of K was just the right amount for the job.

Everyone had a great time!
 
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