Last Updated May 21st, 2023 at 11:55 pm by Lisa
Spiral-Cut Grilled Hot Dogs get nice nooks and crannies to hold more mustard, ketchup, and relish. Grill these full-flavor dogs at your next cookout and put out a bar loaded full of toppings and condiments.
The edges get darker char marks that add more flavor. Plus these hold your fixings so they don't slide off the franks and make a mess!
These are the perfect hot dogs for Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. I love to serve them in reuseable plastic food baskets lined with paper, just like a famous hot dog stand...
How To Make Spiral Hot Dogs
- 8 jumbo beef hot dogs (large beef franks, pork, or thick sausages)
- 8 hot dog buns
Hot Dog Relish
- 1 bell pepper chopped fine
- 1-2 dill pickles chopped fine
- 1 cup green cabbage finely shredded
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Top Hot Dog Grilling Tips
- To make spiral-cut hot dogs, push a metal skewer through the center of each hot dog. Place onto a cutting board, and run a sharp knife at an angle scoring into a spiral all the way down each one to the end, but don't cut all the way through. Carefully pull the hot dog off the skewer, and it is ready to grill.
- Clean your outdoor gas grill or charcoal grill grate with a wire brush and brush some oil on the grate to create a nonstick surface. Preheat your grill on medium high for 5 minutes. For a charcoal grill, light it and be sure the charcoal has some white ash and is burning hot, then grill.
- Grill hot dogs on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes over low open flames until grill marks are all over the surface area of the dogs. They will darken, char, and curl slightly and the spiral cut dogs will expand and get deeper slits while grilling. Turn them often using tongs every few minutes. You can also cook hot dogs in a cast iron grill pan right on the stove.
- Pull the cooked dogs over to indirect heat to keep warm. Load onto buns with toppings, and serve in a food basket lined with paper for easy cleanup. You can toast the bread buns over the grill for a couple of minutes, some people spread a little butter or oil to get a nice toast on the bread buns.
- Load up with your favorite toppings and enjoy! Try my homemade Hot Dog Relish, it is fresh crunchy, and delicious.
SPIRAL CUT PRO TIP: Jumbo hot dogs work better to cut and grill as sprial dogs, but regular classic one will work. Nathan's Jumbo Beef Franks are ideal for spiral cuts. Thick sausages are a great option as well.
Hot Dog Toppings
The best part of a grilled dog, is you guessed it...what you put on it! The choices are endless, and all personal. Here are some all-time favorites for cookouts.
- chili
- grated cheddar cheese
- coleslaw
- relish
- mustard
- ketchup
- mayonnaise
- chopped onions
- chopped tomatoes
- green onions
- pickles
- sauerkraut
- pickled jalapenos
- caramelized onions & mushrooms
- crumbled bacon
More Toppings And Hot Dog Recipes
Hot dog sizes need different grilling times. The amount of time you grill the dogs will depend on the size of the dogs.
regular-sized dogs 5-7 minutes
jumbo-sized dogs - 7-10 minutes
quarter-pound dogs - 15 minutes
Spiral cut dogs have deep cuts that puff up and add more nooks and crannies for condiments to hold on to like mustard, ketchup, relish, and grated cheese! The edges get nice char marks and it adds more flavor plus holds the toppings on so they don't run off the hot dog.
-Sweet Pickle Relish - classic and sweeter of course.
-Dill Pickle Relish - for people who prefer a tart tang.
-Chicago-style Relish is a type of sweet pickle relish typically used on Chicago-style dogs. The unique color of the relish often referred to as "neon green", is created by adding blue dye to regular pickle relish.
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More Hot Dog Toppings
Homemade Relish is a mix of clean crunchy fresh ingredients. You can make it coarse or fine as you prefer. Top classic hot dogs or load-on burgers as part of your cookout menu.
This Easy Coleslaw Recipe has a clean vinegar-based dressing and has no mayo. It goes great with pulled pork sandwiches, or as a classic side dish topping at potluck summer picnics and BBQ cookouts. Crunchy Refrigerator Dill Pickles with jalapeno zing, garlic, and fresh dill require no canning and make perfectly crisp and crunchy dill pickles for a hot dog topping.
Chili Dogs are loaded with toppings, this is a fast 20-minute hot dog chili recipe perfect for a cookout party. Learn the secrets to make this recipe fast, with all kinds of scrumptious toppings like cheese, onions, and thick hearty chili...
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Spiral Cut Grilled Hot Dog Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 jumbo beef hot dogs
- 8 hot dog buns
Hot Dog Relish
- 1 bell pepper chopped fine
- 1-2 dill pickles chopped fine
- 1 cup green cabbage finely shredded
- ¼ cup chopped onion chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Jumbo hot dogs work better, but the regular classic size will work just fine, and you can also spiral-cut sausages
- To make spiral-cut hot dogs, push a metal skewer through the center of each one. Place onto a cutting board, and run a sharp knife at an angle scoring them into a spiral all the way down each one to the end, but don't cut all the way through.
- Carefully pull the hot dog off the skewer, and it is ready to grill. Clean your outdoor gas grill or charcoal grill grate with a wire brush and brush some oil on the grate to create a nonstick surface. Preheat your grill on medium high for 5 minutes. For a charcoal grill, light it and be sure the charcoal has some white ash and is burning hot, then grill.
- Grill on medium heat for about 7-10 minutes over low open flames until grill marks are all over the surface appear. They will darken, char, and curl slightly and get deeper slits while grilling. Turn them often using tongs every few minutes. You can also cook hot dogs in a cast iron grill pan right on the stove. Pull the cooked ones over to indirect heat to keep warm.
- Load onto bread buns with toppings, and serve in a food basket lined with paper for easy cleanup. You can toast the buns over the grill for a couple of minutes, some people spread a little butter or oil to get a nice toast. Load up with your favorite toppings and enjoy! Try my homemade Hot Dog Relish, it is fresh crunchy, and delicious.
Notes
cooking time
Hot dog sizes need different grilling times. The amount of time you grill the dogs will depend on the size of the dogs. regular-sized dogs 5-7 minutesjumbo-sized dogs - 7-10 minutes
quarter-pound dogs - 15 minutes
Hot Dog Toppings
- chili
- grated cheese
- cole slaw
- relish
- mustard
- ketchup
- chopped onions
- chopped tomatoes
- green onions
- pickles
- sauerkraut
- pickled jalapenos
- caramelized onions & mushrooms
- crumbled bacon
Cookout Party Checklist
- Serving Trays - regular or ones that stay chilled
- Pop-Up Food Tents/Covers (keep critters off your food!) 🐜🐜🐜
- Small Bowls
- Serving Spoons
- Grilling Tongs
- Napkins
- Utensils
- Plastic Baskets/Paper Liners or Paper Plates
- Red Solo Cups
- Cooler/Ice
- Beer, Wine, Drinks/Cocktails
- Bottled Water
- Iced Tea, Lemonade, or Soda
- Chips, Dips, Pretzels, Snacks
- Cookout, BBQ, and Grill Items
- Pressed Sandwiches
- Cocktails and Drinks
- Desserts
- Bottle opener/Corkscrew
We grilled these for Super Bowl, so fun and easy. Everyone loved them.