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This $7 grilling hack will give you the perfect hot dogs — and I can't believe how easy it is
Welcome to Get Grillin' Week 2026 here at Tom's Guide. We're celebrating everything about the perfect backyard cookout. We want to help you choose the best grill (and the gear to go with it) as well as learn new tips and tricks when it comes to maintenance and best practices. Because now summer is here, it's time to get outside and get grillin'.
Everyone's got their favorite thing to stick on the grill. For my husband, it's burgers. For me, it's without a doubt hot dogs. But while flipping a patty is easy work, turning individual hot dogs can feel like someone's pulling a prank on me.
Just when I've finally achieved the perfect turn, another wiener knocks it off center. At this point, pretty much every time I grill, I get stuck in a vicious circle with hot dogs rolling all over the place. Even if I've secured myself one of the best grills, those pesky hot dogs just refuse to turn the way I want them to.
And I thought I was fine with that. Well, not fine, but I'd accepted my unevenly cooked frankfurter fate. That was until I came across a TikTok that offered an easy solution – and honestly, I'm kicking myself that I didn't come across it sooner.
How does it work?
TikTok creator, @ericabuteau, is a public historian who shares a wide range of videos. So wide, in fact, that one of them is focused on sharing this hot dog grilling hack. In a few seconds, she demonstrates that all you need to do for the perfect hot dog is to secure them in one place with a skewer before you grill. Genius.
She says: "No more constantly flipping wieners — just one turn and they're done!" And that was music to my grilling ears. Taking two bamboo skewers, she firmly holds down the hot dogs before pushing the skewers through them from one side to the other. Then, when they're on the grill, she shows how you simply turn the entire skewered combo to flip your hot dogs perfectly, every time.
Here's what happened when I tried it
I'm a sucker for a good grilling hack, like when I recently discovered there's one vegetable that can clean up my messy grill fast. So, I immediately grabbed my bamboo skewers and the hot dogs I had waiting for my next grill session to see how it would go.
And I'll admit, I was a little concerned that skewering the hot dogs was going to be a bit tricky, fearing that I'd easily rip one into pieces by accident. Fortunately, hot dogs are quite pliable before they're cooked, and by supporting them like Erica demonstrated in her video, it was pretty simple.
Then came the grilling. Not only was it easier to flip the hot dogs, it was also significantly easier to place them on the grill and pick them back off. I can sometimes neglect the hot dogs when focusing on other things, especially when they're not turning over the way I want them to.
Now, I don't have to worry about it and I can skewer up some veggies to go alongside them at the same time.
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