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Hot dog burnt ends are smoked hot dogs sliced into bites and tossed in a sweet heat barbecue sauce with hot pepper jelly and pickled jalapeños. An easy pellet grill recipe for game day!
I was skeptical about this one at first – but now I’m a full-blown believer. Hot dog burnt ends take everything you love about classic smoked brisket burnt ends and apply that same low-and-slow-then-sauced method to, of all things, a pack of hot dogs.
If you’re already into burnt ends, you know we’ve turned just about everything into “meat candy” around here, from pork butt burnt ends to poor man’s burnt ends. But this smoked hot dogs version might be the easiest one yet.
They’re smoky, sticky, a little sweet, a little spicy, and stupid easy to throw together. Perfect for game day, a backyard cookout, or anytime you want big flavor without babysitting a whole brisket for 12 hours.
What Are Hot Dog Burnt Ends?
Traditional burnt ends are made from the point half of a smoked brisket – cubed up, tossed in sauce, and put back on the smoker until they’re sticky and caramelized. Hot dog burnt ends borrow that exact idea, but swap the brisket for hot dogs.
You still get the smoke, the crosshatched surface for maximum sauce coverage, and that final low-and-slow simmer in a foil pan until the sauce turns tacky and clings to every bite. It’s the same technique, just a whole lot faster and a lot more budget-friendly than a full packer brisket.
What Makes Our Hot Dog Burnt Ends Different?
The real standout here is the sauce. Instead of a straightforward barbecue sauce and brown sugar combo, our recipe leans on hot pepper jelly and pickled jalapeños to build in a sweet heat flavor from the start.
It’s not an aggressive spice – it’s more of a background warmth that plays really well against the sweetness of the brown sugar and jelly. That combination is what sets these apart from a standard burnt ends sauce, and it’s what makes people go back for “just one more” long after they should’ve stopped.
Ingredients Needed
- Hot dogs – Bun-length, skinny, fat – any kind works, or use all-beef hot dogs if you prefer.
- Yellow mustard – We used this as a binder so the seasoning sticks. A thinner binder, like Worcestershire sauce, doesn’t work as well for this recipe.
- Barbecue seasoning or all-purpose rub – We used our own ‘Que That Rub and Seasoning, which was perfect here. Substitute your favorite BBQ seasoning if you wish.
- Hot pepper jelly – This is what makes our recipe unique. The thickness of the jelly and the sweet heat flavor is a real stand-out.
- Barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and butter – The “holy trinity” of burnt ends sauce. We used Kinder’s Gold barbecue sauce, which had a nice balance for this recipe, because it’s not too sweet or too thick.
- Pickled jalapeños – Plus some of the juice for a little extra heat. These add a pop of color and a bit of different texture to the burnt ends. We love it!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Crosshatch the hot dogs. Using a sharp knife, cut diagonal slits into the hot dogs on one side, then flip and repeat on the other. This opens up more surface area so seasoning and smoke can really penetrate – and it makes for a nicer presentation once they’re sauced.
Add the mustard binder. Rub yellow mustard all over each hot dog to help the seasoning stick.
Season. Coat the hot dogs generously with your favorite barbecue seasoning.
Smoke low and slow. Place the hot dogs on a cooling rack or directly on the grates and smoke at 225°F for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Bump up the heat. While the smoker is climbing to 400°F, pull the hot dogs and slice each one into thirds.
Build the sauce. In a foil pan, combine the hot pepper jelly, barbecue sauce, butter, brown sugar, and pickled jalapeños. Mix well.
Add the hot dogs to the pan. Toss the sliced hot dogs into the sauce, making sure everything gets coated.
Back on the smoker. Return the pan to the smoker at 400°F for about 30 minutes, stirring often so the sauce doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Watch the sauce reduce. As it cooks, the sauce will thin out first, then start to reduce and thicken up. Once it’s nice and tacky and clinging to the hot dogs, they’re done.
Rest, then serve. Let the pan cool slightly (it’ll be hot) before digging in.
Sauce Tip:
If you want to thicken your sauce even more, you can transfer the smoked hot dog burnt ends to a plate, and put the pan with the sauce only back on the smoker. Bump up the heat of the grill to about 400°F, and it will reduce more quickly. Then you can toss the smoked hot dogs back in.
Tips from Our Cook
- Pellet choice matters more than you’d think here. Since the hot dogs are only on the smoker a short time, a strong-flavored pellet will impart more smoke in that shorter window. We use and recommend Smokin’ Pecan pellets, made from pecan shells, which has been proven to produce more smoke.
- If you like a little less heat, ease up on the pickled jalapeños – or add extra if you’re a spice lover. It’s your dish, so season it to taste.
- No need to buy a hot dog slicer for the crosshatch. It goes pretty quickly if you line up 6-8 hot dogs together and score them all at once in a diagonal pattern.
Smoked Hot Dog Burnt Ends
Ingredients
For the hot dogs:
- 16 hot dogs, any style, or all-beef hot dogs
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, for the binder
- 2-3 tablespoons barbecue seasoning or all-purpose rub, like 'Que That Rub and Seasoning
For the Sauce:
- ½ cup barbecue sauce, see notes
- ¼ cup hot pepper jelly
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños, drained
Instructions
- Preheat your pellet grill or smoker to 225°F.
- Using a sharp knife, cut diagonal crosshatch slits into each hot dog on one side, then flip and repeat on the other side.
- Rub each hot dog all over with yellow mustard, then coat generously with barbecue seasoning.
- Place the hot dogs on a cooling rack or directly on the grates and smoke at 225°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove the hot dogs from the smoker and increase the grill temperature to 400°F. Slice each hot dog into thirds.
- While the grill is heating to 400℉, prepare the sauce. In a disposable foil pan, combine the hot pepper jelly, barbecue sauce, butter, brown sugar, and pickled jalapeños. Stir to combine.
- Add the sliced hot dogs to the pan and toss to coat evenly in the sauce.
- Place the pan back on the smoker at 400°F for about 30 minutes, stirring often so the sauce doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan. Cook until the sauce reduces and thickens to a tacky glaze that clings to the hot dogs. See notes.
- Remove from the smoker, and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Pellet or wood choice – Pellet choice matters for this recipe since the hot dogs only smoke for a short time – a bold, flavorful pellet will impart more smoke in that shorter window. We use and recommend Smokin’ Pecan pellets made from 100% pecan shells.
- Spice level – Adjust the pickled jalapeños up or down depending on how much heat you like. You can also add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the barbecue sauce mixture for extra spice.
- For the BBQ sauce – We used Kinder’s Gold barbecue sauce, which had a nice balance for this recipe, because it’s not too sweet or too thick. We prefer a sauce that has a bit of vinegar notes to balance out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- For a thicker sauce – If you want to thicken your sauce even more, you can transfer the smoked hot dog burnt ends to a plate, and put the pan with the sauce only back on the smoker. Bump up the heat of the grill to about 400°F, and it will reduce more quickly. Then you can toss the smoked hot dogs back in.
Frequently Asked Questions
No – any type of hot dog works for this recipe, whether it’s bun-length, skinny, fat, all-beef, or a value pack. Use whatever you have on hand or prefer.
Cutting diagonal slits into the hot dogs opens up more surface area, which lets seasoning and smoke penetrate deeper for more flavor, and it also gives the finished hot dogs a nicer, more rustic presentation.
The sauce will thin out first as it heats, then gradually reduce and thicken. You want it tacky enough to cling to the hot dogs rather than pooling in the bottom of the pan. If you find that the sauce is taking too long to tack up, you can also remove the hot dog pieces, and put the pan with the sauce only back on the smoker. Bump up the heat of the grill, and it will reduce more quickly. Then you can toss the smoked hot dogs back in.
Yes. The pickled jalapeños are the main heat source, so add more for extra spice or scale back if you want it milder.
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