Here is how to make good burgers and hot dogs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if the people upset by this (extremely basic baseline level) advice are thinking about the garbage they served people yesterday and feeling embarassed.

It's nice to host people but you do actually have to HOST. It actually is rude to invite people over and then give them inedible food that they have to wait a long time for. The vast majority of people will be polite and smile through it and thank you for hosting but they will leave and feel hungry and irritable and wish the'd accepted another invite or just stayed home.

It's hard as a guest because you don't want to be rude even if your hosts are awful (they are usually family or friends so you don't want to kill the relationship over their bad hosting even if it's egregious). So you wind up captive to their bad hosting and especially if you have kids in tow that is work to get through. Don't force your guests to politely choke down garbage -- make a little effort!

People don’t want to admit it but you do actually need to be good at hosting to host. You can’t call dibs on a major holiday, stake your claim on hosting it, and then fudge up the food. This is not that different from people insisting they host Thanksgiving and serving dry ass Turkey or refusing to cook Thanksgiving food. If you aren’t good at grilling and dont know how to do burgers and dogs, you actually should not volunteer to host a cookout where those foods are central! I stand with OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please season your burger meat. Just salt is fine but definitely salt. Some black pepper can also be nice -- freshly ground if you have it.

Know how your grill works. Start it when it needs to be started (if using charcoal give yourself 45 minutes or so before you need to be putting the meat on.

Doneness is obviously a matter of preference but most people like a medium doneness so aim for that. You can always leave a couple on longer if someone is squeamish about pink meat.

American cheese is fine but you're welcome to get something better. But offering cheese is nice.

For toppings you should have - at a minimum - lettuce tomato pickle ketchup mustard. Some people like a thinly sliced red onion or - if you want to be fancy - grilled onions. Bacon barbecue sauce mayo etc. are optional but you need to have those first five.

For hot dogs please buy kosher for better quality. Ensure they are all cooked all the way through -- a lot of people who don't eat hot dogs will just throw them on until there is any kind of grill marks but they take a bit longer than that to cook and actually for doneness hot dogs usually taste better if they have a good crispy char on the outside. For toppings offer ketchup and mustard at least (relish onions etc optional).

Toast all the buns. It takes very little time and helps a lot.

Classic sides: baked beans (crock pot so you don't have to turn on the oven) potato salad and chips. We like to put out a crudite platter and a green salad as well.

If you can't handle the forgoing just don't host on the 4th or memorial day. It's okay. Not everyone likes hosting. But if you DO host please do not serve your guests uncooked dogs and unseasoned burger hockey pucks with just ketchup and some sad wilted lettuce and no sides. It's depressing and your guests will wind up having to stop for food on the way home.

Thank you for the helpful advice!

Sock puppeting is tiresome. There is NOBODY over the age of 21 that doesn't already know the basics of this, and funnily enough, some of this is wrong. (Hot dogs are already cooked, you can't undercook them)

There are tons of people over the age of 21 who don't know this stuff as evidenced by your incorrect belief that it is impossible to undercook a hot dog. Think about it -- if it were not possible to undercoook hot dogs then why would e cook them at all? Just because grill marks are attractive?

Here’s an article from Bon Appétit explaining that while hot dogs are fully cooked, grilling them adds flavor.
https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/common-mistakes/article/common-mistakes-hot-dogs

Now I suppose if you get some kind of specialty hot dogs fresh from a butcher, they might conceivably be uncooked, but it’s hard to imagine someone who needs to be told to offer sides going to the time and trouble of getting specialty raw hot dogs and not cooking them.

This whole argument seems akin to saying bread is undercooked if it’s not toasted. It may taste better after it’s toasted, but eating it right out of the package isn’t going to make you sick, much less eating it lightly toasted.

[Anonymous]

Toasted buns are gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kosher hot dogs are better? I keep kosher so only eat these but I never knew anyone else bought them or that they are considered better. I wonder why

They are made from kosher beef and don't have the nasty fillers regular hot dogs do. Kosher hot dogs taste so much better.

[Anonymous]

Totally with you, OP, except the toasted buns.

I love hosting and host a lot. These are basics but some people were apparently raised by wolves and don’t know them.

[Anonymous]

I agree with OP on some points. Don’t keep your guests waiting all day for their meal, especially kids. Cook your meat properly; undercooked burgers are pretty egregious.

But on a lot of her points OP is being a triflin’ b***h.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally with you, OP, except the toasted buns.

I love hosting and host a lot. These are basics but some people were apparently raised by wolves and don’t know them.

So people who don’t follow OPs guidelines were apparently raised by wolves - except for the guideline you don’t follow, that one doesn’t count.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please season your burger meat. Just salt is fine but definitely salt. Some black pepper can also be nice -- freshly ground if you have it.

Know how your grill works. Start it when it needs to be started (if using charcoal give yourself 45 minutes or so before you need to be putting the meat on.

Doneness is obviously a matter of preference but most people like a medium doneness so aim for that. You can always leave a couple on longer if someone is squeamish about pink meat.

American cheese is fine but you're welcome to get something better. But offering cheese is nice.

For toppings you should have - at a minimum - lettuce tomato pickle ketchup mustard. Some people like a thinly sliced red onion or - if you want to be fancy - grilled onions. Bacon barbecue sauce mayo etc. are optional but you need to have those first five.

For hot dogs please buy kosher for better quality. Ensure they are all cooked all the way through -- a lot of people who don't eat hot dogs will just throw them on until there is any kind of grill marks but they take a bit longer than that to cook and actually for doneness hot dogs usually taste better if they have a good crispy char on the outside. For toppings offer ketchup and mustard at least (relish onions etc optional).

Toast all the buns. It takes very little time and helps a lot.

Classic sides: baked beans (crock pot so you don't have to turn on the oven) potato salad and chips. We like to put out a crudite platter and a green salad as well.

If you can't handle the forgoing just don't host on the 4th or memorial day. It's okay. Not everyone likes hosting. But if you DO host please do not serve your guests uncooked dogs and unseasoned burger hockey pucks with just ketchup and some sad wilted lettuce and no sides. It's depressing and your guests will wind up having to stop for food on the way home.

People want a pink steak. Or maybe a pink burger at a quality restaurant. I don’t want a pink burger at some rando’s backyard BBQ.

[Anonymous]

Hear me out: not hot dogs, but brats. Boil first (in beer or something flavorful) and throw on the grill.

[Anonymous]

Shish kebabs too

Salad

Watermelon

Cold drinks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hear me out: not hot dogs, but brats. Boil first (in beer or something flavorful) and throw on the grill.

I love brats, and I cook with the same method, but if you’re trying to serve a variety of people/little kids you gotta do hot dogs

[Anonymous]

I've never had any complaints about my cold unpressed tofu burgers. Who wants hot food in summer? A cool, raw soy patty that moistens the bun is maximally refreshing, with the essential nutrients of life. And my guests enjoy the flavors, I mean flavor, because their taste isn't dulled by alcoholic, sugary, or carbonated drinks.

It's quite affordable too. I only need 1 lb of tofu, because most of my friends have converted to Canadian and don't celebrate July 4th and Independence Day anymore. Those folks always enjoy my cold neat poutine on Canada Day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hear me out: not hot dogs, but brats. Boil first (in beer or something flavorful) and throw on the grill.

I love brats, and I cook with the same method, but if you’re trying to serve a variety of people/little kids you gotta do hot dogs

The wee lil red-cheeked chubby toddlers in Wisconsin are scarfing up their brats and squeeking up their cheese curds without a care in the world!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never had any complaints about my cold unpressed tofu burgers. Who wants hot food in summer? A cool, raw soy patty that moistens the bun is maximally refreshing, with the essential nutrients of life. And my guests enjoy the flavors, I mean flavor, because their taste isn't dulled by alcoholic, sugary, or carbonated drinks.

It's quite affordable too. I only need 1 lb of tofu, because most of my friends have converted to Canadian and don't celebrate July 4th and Independence Day anymore. Those folks always enjoy my cold neat poutine on Canada Day!

Barf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please season your burger meat. Just salt is fine but definitely salt. Some black pepper can also be nice -- freshly ground if you have it.

Know how your grill works. Start it when it needs to be started (if using charcoal give yourself 45 minutes or so before you need to be putting the meat on.

Doneness is obviously a matter of preference but most people like a medium doneness so aim for that. You can always leave a couple on longer if someone is squeamish about pink meat.

American cheese is fine but you're welcome to get something better. But offering cheese is nice.

For toppings you should have - at a minimum - lettuce tomato pickle ketchup mustard. Some people like a thinly sliced red onion or - if you want to be fancy - grilled onions. Bacon barbecue sauce mayo etc. are optional but you need to have those first five.

For hot dogs please buy kosher for better quality. Ensure they are all cooked all the way through -- a lot of people who don't eat hot dogs will just throw them on until there is any kind of grill marks but they take a bit longer than that to cook and actually for doneness hot dogs usually taste better if they have a good crispy char on the outside. For toppings offer ketchup and mustard at least (relish onions etc optional).

Toast all the buns. It takes very little time and helps a lot.

Classic sides: baked beans (crock pot so you don't have to turn on the oven) potato salad and chips. We like to put out a crudite platter and a green salad as well.

If you can't handle the forgoing just don't host on the 4th or memorial day. It's okay. Not everyone likes hosting. But if you DO host please do not serve your guests uncooked dogs and unseasoned burger hockey pucks with just ketchup and some sad wilted lettuce and no sides. It's depressing and your guests will wind up having to stop for food on the way home.

Thank you for the helpful advice!

Sock puppeting is tiresome. There is NOBODY over the age of 21 that doesn't already know the basics of this, and funnily enough, some of this is wrong. (Hot dogs are already cooked, you can't undercook them)

There are tons of people over the age of 21 who don't know this stuff as evidenced by your incorrect belief that it is impossible to undercook a hot dog. Think about it -- if it were not possible to undercoook hot dogs then why would e cook them at all? Just because grill marks are attractive?

You cook them because they taste better hot. And grilled. And also because they can have bacteria like similar meats (deli meat, which you are supposed to heat to steaming if you are immunocompromised).

But you cannot undercook them. They are fully cooked.