Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers are a sure-fire hit with kids of all ages.
- If you want a toasted bun, place buttered buns butter-side-down on the grill for five minutes or until toasted.
- Keep a spray bottle of water near the barbecue in case of flare-ups.
- Hot dogs are usually precooked, so you only need to heat them up on the barbecue; plan cooking times accordingly.
- The more fat there is in your ground beef, the more the patties will shrink.
- Purchase hot dogs, ground beef, buns and condiments.
- Season ground beef as desired by adding seasoning salt, chopped onions, dry onion-soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
- Form ground beef into patties using hands or a mold: Grab a tennis ball-sized piece of beef and flatten it into a patty. Be sure the patty is the same thickness on the edges as it is in the middle. Each patty should be about 3/4 inch thick.
- Stack ground beef patties on a plate, separating them with pieces of waxed paper. Refrigerate patties until time to cook.
- Prepare coals for barbecuing or turn gas grill to High.
- Place hamburgers and hot dogs on grill.
- Hot dogs should be turned often until slightly blistered on all sides.
- Cook hamburgers on one side until brown and sizzling (approximately 10 minutes).
- Using a spatula, flip hamburgers over and cook other side.
- When juices from hamburger are no longer pink, use a small knife to cut into one hamburger and check for doneness. If one is done, the rest will be also.
- Place grilled hamburgers and hot dogs on a clean plate.
- Serve as desired - plain or on buns.
Be sure hamburgers are cooked all the way through to avoid e. coli poisoning.