The Hot Dog Flipping Hack That'll Make Summer Cookouts So Much Easier

Picture this: You're ready to hit the grill, with all your hot dogs on a tray. As soon as you get outside, you start laying everything down. Not so bad. But then you have to flip everything. Then you have to remove everything from the grill, picking up each hot dog individually. Okay, there has to be a better way.

You're in luck, because all you need are a handful of wooden or metal skewers to instantly upgrade your grilling experience. You're going to take one skewer, position it about an inch from the edge of the hot dog and slide it through; repeat with as many hot dogs as will fit. Then, laying the skewered dogs on a flat surface, you'll take a second skewer and slide it all the way through on the other side of the hot dogs.

What you end up with is a wiener-rific "ladder" that makes it easy to flip a number of them all at once, even if they're spiral-cut hot dogs. And it's not just for dogs. You can obviously use this for other tube-shaped meats, like bratwursts or kielbasas, but it also works for chicken, shrimp, and vegetables (the latter two only require one skewer).

There are a few other reasons why this hack is so perfect for when you have to grill a lot of food. First, it keeps the food more secure for transport from your kitchen to the outdoors. If you like to put everything on a tray (including meats, buns, and even your hot dog relish) before taking it outside to the grill, skewering the hot dogs ensures that they won't roll off. You can even stack skewered meats and veggies without fear of losing any, so you're able to transport more in a single trip.

There is also the fact that because the hot dogs are secured with skewers, they're a lot less likely to fall between the grill grates while cooking. There is something so disheartening about saying goodbye to an entire hot dog because a careless swipe of the tongs pushed it between those thin grates into the fiery flames below. And less food falling equals less mess to clean up later.

If you struggle to keep food from falling, here are some other ideas for keeping it on the straight and narrow (grill grates, that is). First, invest in a raised grill topper or grill mats. These sit directly on the grill and provide a perforated or totally intact (but super thin) surface on which to cook your food. Some grill toppers even have raised sides to further help prevent food from falling.

Grill baskets are another great way to keep food from slipping between the grates. There are two types: a perforated five-sided basket with an open top, and an enclosed basket with a handle. Because the former tend to have much higher sides, they're perfect for tossing chopped vegetables, but they can also be used for hot dogs. Their higher sides, too, make it easier to scoop up multiple hot dogs using tongs and flip them all at once. Enclosed grill baskets allow you to put the food inside, secure the basket closed, and use the handle to manipulate the food over the grill. These could also be great for hot dogs, though you would need multiple baskets for a crowd.