TikTok's Unsettling Hot Dog Cooking Idea Is A Nightmare Sous Vide Scenario

Every once in a while, TikTok graces us with a cooking hack that feels like it crawled out of a laboratory experiment gone wrong. The latest? People are tossing an entire unopened package of hot dogs straight into boiling water or on the grill. No unwrapping, no poking holes, no draining. Just plastic-wrapped weenies sizzling away like a DIY sous vide. The videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

Across all of these videos, many commenters are concerned about the plastic melting or getting microplastics in your food. Others say this is how they've always done it. So, what's the verdict? The dogs are fully cooked already, so what's the harm? Why not just warm them up right in their packaging?

The thing is, there are phthalates (synthetic chemicals) in the plastic packaging. Phthalates can be harmful to your health, especially when you consume them on a regular basis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also warns that harmful chemicals can leach into your food when cooked with the packaging materials. According to the USDA, making this mistake may still be okay if the packaging hasn't melted or changed shape in any way, but if it has, you should throw the cooked food away.

Pan frying is one of the best ways to cook up your hot dogs. Sure, you can get a nice crosshatch when grilling, but pan frying gives you a mouth-watering, all-over brown. Try cutting your hot dogs in half lengthwise to get a good fry on both sides (and so you'll have room in the bun for all the toppings you want). It's a win-win. Add some butter and fry on medium-high heat until browned.

Another way to get a good, crispy dog is by cooking them up in your air fryer. It's a lot like grilling them, but without all the effort. Just set your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, leave them in for five minutes, and you'll have perfectly cooked weenies. You can even toast your buns in the air fryer, and it only takes one minute. You'll have perfectly toasted hot dogs and buns in a flash.

Finally, you can always use the tried-and-true method of boiling your hot dogs. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add your hot dogs (sans wrapper) and allow them to cook for 5 minutes. You'll have plump dogs ready for your buns and toppings, without all the microplastics.