Hot Dog Burnt Ends

If you are craving burnt ends, but don’t have the time to smoke a brisket, give this alternative recipe a shot. You won’t be disappointed in hot dog burnt ends! Best of all, it takes just a fraction of the time!

I can’t wait for you jump in and make these this weekend. You are about to become a legend behind the grill. Air Fryer and oven directions can be found in the recipe card below.

🌭 Ingredients

🛒Hot Dogs – I used Nathan’s Beef Hot Dogs, but grab whatever variety you want. I only used two packages, but in hindsight, I should have bought more.

🛒Dry Rub – Meat Church’s all-purpose Gospel Dry Rub was a safe selection. Use what spice mixture you have on hand, or go for one of the classics. If you have a hankering to use your own rub, give the best dry rub for ribs, pulled pork rub, or the all purpose rub a try.

🛒Yellow Mustard – To get it to bind to the hot dogs, mix the franks with some yellow mustard.

🛒BBQ Sauce – Sweet Baby Ray’s is my go-to BBQ sauce. It never lets me down.

🛒Teriyaki Sauce – We wanted the sauce to be a bit sweet and a bit tangy. The Teriyaki sauce mixes well with the BBQ sauce, and then the brown sugar is added to pull the two sauces together.

🛒Butter – You can never go wrong with adding a stick of butter! It makes everything taste better!

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

✔️Smoker or Grill. We’re using the Big Green Egg as a smoker and grill with excellent results. You can also use the Traeger or another pellet smoker, electric smoker, offset smoker or charcoal smoker. The same applies to gas grills, pellet grills, and charcoal grills.

✔️Ziploc Bags – This is my not-too-secret favorite grilling accessory. I added all the hot dogs to a bag and added some mustard to serve as a binding agent for the BBQ rub.

✔️Disposable Aluminum Pan – Since I was taking these to a friend’s house for a ball game, I did all the grilling in this pan. It is disposable, so I didn’t have to worry about bringing it home and cleaning it.

✔️Glass Bowl – I found it easier to use a glass bowl to mix all of the sauce with the franks. You could do it in the disposable pan, but this was easier.

✔️Wood Chips, Chunks Or Pellets – This is a great recipe for a bold-flavored wood like mesquite, hickory, or oak. If you aren’t sure you’ll like the smoky flavor, stick with a more mild variety like cherry, pecan, or apple. For a more detailed discussion, check out our wood pairing cheat sheet.

🔥 Instructions

👉Step 1: Add the hot dogs to a Ziploc Bag and squeeze in some yellow mustard. The mustard is thick enough to stick to the franks. Work it around in your hands to slather it and make sure they are evenly coated. Give it a good shake for good measure. You really don’t need a lot.

👉Step 2: Sprinkle the barbecue rub on the hot dogs. They should be evenly coated.

Note: You won’t taste the yellow mustard after they smoke. I don’t understand the science behind it, but the flavor of the mustard completely disappears! If you know why that happens, please leave a comment below.

👉Step 3: Preheat the grill or smoker to 250°F. Add wood chips to create a nice, gentle smoke. This is a good time to use a bold flavor like mesquite or hickory. We have a more in-depth article on smoked hot dogs if you want to keep a few for the kids.

👉Step 4: Add the franks straight on the grill grates or add them to a high rack, close the lid, and let them smoke for about 1 – 1½ hours or until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F. You’ll notice them darken nicely.

👉Step 5: Remove them from the grill or the wire rack and slice each hotdog into four pieces.

👉Step 6: Add the hot dog pieces and the remaining ingredients into a glass bowl and stir to coat thoroughly. Scoop the hot dogs out of the bowl and into the disposable baking pan. Add the cubed butter on top.

Note: Don’t pour the entire bowl into the aluminum pan. There will probably be some excess sauce, and that will pool on the bottom of the pan.

👉Step 7: Turn the grill’s temperature up to 350°F. Place the pan on the grill and let the coated hotdogs cook for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. You’ll see the sauce start to caramelize and become sticky. That is PERFECT!

👉Step 8: Remove from the grill, let stand for 10 minutes, and then serve the hot dog burnt ends warm. I found it best to use toothpicks for your guests to take their portions.

🗄️ Leftover Storage

Note: Keep in mind that cooked hot dogs stay safe to eat for up to 4 days in the fridge. Make sure you eat them within the recommended timeframe!

🌶️ Additions & Substitutions

Traditional burnt ends use smoked brisket (beef) or smoked pork belly with a sweet rub and barbecue sauce, and this delicious twist on the recipe is definitely kid-friendly. It’s always a good idea to make a double batch of the rub. It keeps well and you’ll have some for the next time you wanna BBQ.

🥨 Serving Suggestions

These are a fun game day treat and there’s an endless number of sides for hot dogs to choose from! When looking for BBQ sides, run and make the smoked mac and cheese! Truly one of a kind. Creamy and dreamy all in one bite.

A smoked potato salad or some grilled baked beans would also make these sticky burnt ends a delectable feast.

Or keep it light with a crunchy coleslaw or grilled beer corn on the cob.

♨️ More Burnt Ends Recipes

⭐Poor Man’s Burnt Ends | Hot dog burnt ends are a variation (and a fun one) of the classic poor man’s burnt ends recipe. Yes, it will take longer because you need to smoke a whole chuck roast or beef brisket first, but the resulting meat is fantastic!

⭐Bologna Burnt Ends | As a close relative to the hot dog recipe, these bologna burnt ends will be met with the same enthusiasm and are also way easier and faster than the traditional brisket or chuck burnt ends.

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