Hot dogs in crock pot?

[krcit]

I'm having a party this weekend and in addition to all the other food, I want to have some hot dogs in the crock for people to grab. Should I add water/beer or just let them cook in their own juices?

 

[powellrj]

If you fill the crockpot with the hot dogs standing upright, they will cook wonderfully in their own juices. I did this for a dinner and it turned out great! I got it off pintress!

 

[powellrj]

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2012/04/hot-dogs-for-crowd.html

 

[krcit]

haha..that's a funny blog. Thanks!! I am not making that many though so I can't stand them up.

 

[lynxstch]

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2012/04/hot-dogs-for-crowd.html

lol that was funny!

 

[Poohforyou]

I'd put a few inches of water in the crock pot so the hot dogs steam. I wouldn't use beer. A lot of people might not like that and if there are kids they probably wouldn't want them.

 

[krcit]

I'd put a few inches of water in the crock pot so the hot dogs steam. I wouldn't use beer. A lot of people might not like that and if there are kids they probably wouldn't want them.

True! I didn't even think of that. Thanks.


Ok, another question. I'm also making rigatoni ala vodka. I'd really rather not have to boil 2 lbs of pasta while people are already here. Should I just precook it and add a bit of olive oil and then just drop it into boiling water for a minute before serving?

 

[tink_n_pooh]

No liquid in the hot dogs unless you like mushy boiled hot dogs

 

[POOHsie]

My mom did something that was always a hit. She got a few jars of Heinz Chili Sauce and a few packages of good quality cocktail weiners. In a saucepan she would heat the items through. Then she poured the weiners and sauce into a chafing dish with a sterno heat underneath. Next to it was a small cup of toothpicks. You would grab a toothpick and your own weinie(s). If you haven't tried Heinz Chili Sauce, it doesn't make stuff taste "Mexican" but it is really tasty.

 

[krcit]

No liquid in the hot dogs unless you like mushy boiled hot dogs

Won't they burn?

 

[Poohforyou]

True! I didn't even think of that. Thanks.


Ok, another question. I'm also making rigatoni ala vodka. I'd really rather not have to boil 2 lbs of pasta while people are already here. Should I just precook it and add a bit of olive oil and then just drop it into boiling water for a minute before serving?

I will often cook a batch of pasta and use it throughout the week. What I do to heat it up again is put it in a microwave container with a few TBS of water, pop a lid on it and heat for a few minutes. I usually don't even have to drain it again because the pasta will just reabsorb that small amount of water.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Won't they burn?

No...
Think about it, people cook them on a hot grill (or griddle)
But, it doesn't sound like that is the kind of dog you are wanting.

Once they are cooked, I would just keep them WARM...

DO NOT keep the crock pot hot enough to continue to (over) cook them.

You can keep them in hot water, so they don't dry out.
Think kind of like a steam table.
But do not keep them hot enough to continue to keep cooking.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, I have often reheated pasta.

I would rinse it a little, to remove excess sticky gluten.
Place in good air-tight container, with just enough water so the pasta will not dry.
Then, it will be ready when you are!

 

[krcit]

No...
Think about it, people cook them on a hot grill (or griddle)
But, it doesn't sound like that is the kind of dog you are wanting.

Once they are cooked, I would just keep them WARM...

DO NOT keep the crock pot hot enough to continue to (over) cook them.

You can keep them in hot water, so they don't dry out.
Think kind of like a steam table.
But do not keep them hot enough to continue to keep cooking.

I was just thinking of keeping them warm in crock so that if someone came by before or after I served the real food they could grab a dog. So I should just turn crock to warm after I cook them?

 

[clh2]

True! I didn't even think of that. Thanks.


Ok, another question. I'm also making rigatoni ala vodka. I'd really rather not have to boil 2 lbs of pasta while people are already here. Should I just precook it and add a bit of olive oil and then just drop it into boiling water for a minute before serving?

I did this when I cooked pasta for DD's cross country pasta parties. Cook it at your convenience a day or two early. Rinse the pasta, toss on a little oil (I know - they always say not to rinse the pasta on cooking shows) but you don't want a big sticky mess. If the pasta says cook for 9-11 minutes - go for 9 minutes.

If you dump it in boiling water - once the pasta is "swimming nicely" in the boiling water - it is heated up.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, you are on the right track! Do not overcook... and only keep warm.
Or. like one poster said, you might end up with soggy, mushy, tasteless, overcooked hot-dogs.

The above comments on the pasta are right on target too.
Same goes for pasta. Do not overcook... rinse and chill... you don't want soggy, mushy, tasteless, overcooked pasta either.

 

[MrsPete]

I wonder . . . Could you partially fill the crock pot with chili -- thin hot dog chili, not thick eat-by-itself chili -- and cook the hot dogs in that?

 

[shoney]

Hot dogs are cooked already. You just need to keep them warm.

We have a cute little hot dog roller cooker. It doesn't hold that many at a time, though...but we just throw another on as people take them. Works out well when the kids have friends over in the summer.

It is similar to this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nostalgia...t-Dog-Roller-HDR-565/5715284?findingMethod=rr

For the pasta, I would cook it al dente...toss it with the sauce, put in a baking dish and cover. (or use a disposable aluminum pan and cover with foil)

Just heat the dish in the oven prior to serving.
(Just like a baked ziti or lasagna)

 

[design_mom]

I was always told hot dogs just need to be heated, not cooked. My mom always heated hot dogs by bringing a pot of water to a boil, removing the pot from heat, putting the hot dogs in and letting them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes or so.

I have made them for a party before by heating the water (without hot dogs) in the crockpot. Then about 15 minutes before we planned to eat, I put the hot dogs in. They seemed to work fine.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

No the hot dogs will not burn. We did the pinterest crock pot full of dogs for a birthday party. The dogs touching the edges got nicely browned after hours on low but no where close to burned. We had the crock pot on with varying amounts of dogs for at least 8 hours by the time we cleaned everything up and went home. No burned dogs. Cleaned up was easy, no scorch marks on the crock