For Grilled Hot Dogs Packed With Flavor, Brush On This Buttery Liquid Gold First

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With summertime in full swing, you may be on the hunt for more delicious ways to season and enjoy your next batch of perfectly grilled hot dogs. Especially if you've grown tired of dressing these popular franks in only ketchup and mustard, there's one savory spread you need to try. While there are at least five classic ways to season your next round of hot dogs, consider giving your dried spices a break and reach for some homemade or store-bought garlic butter instead. Believe it or not, garlic butter is an easy, foolproof way to give classic hot dogs a more savory, unforgettable flavor.

All you need to do is secure a package of the best hot dogs from the grocery store and then cross-hatch the surface of each one with a sharp knife or a specialized tool for the job, such as the COSPELEY Hot Dog Cutter from Amazon. Then, before grilling your dogs, melt down some premade garlic butter or make your own by combining butter, minced garlic, fresh parsley, and salt over your stove until fragrant. From here, all you need to do is grill your hot dogs, and once they deepen in color, use a pastry brush to slather on a good helping of garlic butter. Sure enough, before they're pulled from the grill, the garlic-infused butter will drip down into the cracks of each hot dog, giving these meaty links a punchier, more pronounced flavor.

To take this simple upgrade one step further, use any leftover garlic butter to make extra savory hot dog buns. While your hot dogs are cooking, spread some garlic butter on the front and back of your buns and then grill them for a few seconds on each side. Adding garlic butter to your hot dogs and their respective buns gives this meal a more garlic-heavy twist.

Once you infuse all portions of this iconic meal with the right amount of garlic butter, you're then ready to dress these savory links in all the right toppings. For starters, considering hot dogs belong in grilled cheese sandwiches, why not make garlic butter grilled cheese hot dogs? Once your buns are evenly toasted in garlic butter, add on a heaping portion of hand-grated cheddar cheese. You can also incorporate some mozzarella for a meltier result or Gruyere cheese for a more complex flavor profile. From here, melt the cheese over your grill, oven, or microwave. 

Top these butter-drenched links with fresh extras like tomatoes and peppers or briny additions like olives and pickles. And keep in mind that when preparing garlic butter hot dogs, you don't always need a grill to get delicious results. Feel free to roast them in the oven or pan-fry your next batch of hot dogs for a perfectly seared flavor and equally snappy texture.