Hot dog microwave timer
Two dogs from the fridge take about 40 seconds. Frozen ones take closer to two minutes, and they need to be turned.
Cook for
45 sec
Somewhere around 40 sec – 55 sec.
Before they go in
Slit each one down its length with a knife, or prick it four or five times. An intact hot dog is sealed, and the skin splits with a bang that leaves the ends dry and the middle cold.
- 1Slit or prick each hot dog. If they are frozen, separate them first — frozen in a block, they heat as a block and the middle stays icy.
- 2Lay them in a single layer on a plate, spaced apart, with a paper towel over the top to catch any spitting.
- 3Cook straight through; a turn halfway is optional but gives a more even result.
- 4Check one in the middle: it should be steaming, not warm. Hot dogs are a ready-to-eat product, but uneven heating is still the risk.
- 5Let them sit 30 seconds. The casing tightens as it cools and they are easier to bite.
A microwave will not brown a hot dog. If you want the snap of a grilled one, 20 seconds in the microwave then 2 minutes in a hot pan gets you both.
Hot dogs are the fastest hot food in the house and the one most often ruined, always in the same way: put in whole, they split along the skin with a pop, the ends dry out and the middle stays lukewarm.
One knife stroke down the length fixes all three. It gives the steam somewhere to go, so the sausage heats evenly instead of expanding until it fails.
What the microwave does to a hot dog
A hot dog is an emulsion of finely ground meat, fat and water in a casing. Microwaves hit the water first, so the interior steams. In a sealed sausage, that steam has nowhere to go until the skin gives.
Splitting the skin turns a burst into a controlled vent. It also means the sausage heats from the inside out rather than the outside in, which is why a split hot dog is hot all the way through in 20 seconds when a whole one is not.
The one thing the microwave cannot do
Brown it. There is no browning without a hot dry surface, and a microwave is a wet environment by design. A microwaved hot dog is pale and soft, which is fine in a bun with mustard and disappointing on a plate.
If you want the snap of a grilled one, 20 seconds in the microwave then 2 minutes in a hot pan gets you there faster than the pan alone.
Times worth remembering
At 800W, in a single layer on a paper towel, turned once.
| How many | From the fridge | From frozen |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20-25 sec | 60-75 sec |
| 2 | 35-45 sec | 1 min 30 – 2 min |
| 4 | 60-75 sec | 2 min 30 – 3 min |
| 6 | 1 min 30 | 3 min 30 – 4 min |