What is summer without a hot dog?  Call them what you will: wieners, franks, dawgs, or sausages.  At Songer, hot dogs will always remind us of summer vacations in West Virginia.

A bunch of dogs on the grill.

We don’t serve them on white water rafting trips (yet!), but I’m thinking it would be a welcome addition.

In a lot of households, it’s women in the kitchen doing dinner.  Then, when it comes to grilling, it’s all of a sudden the man’s job. Not here. Anyone can grill here at Songer (except for little kids, who we think should just stay away from the matches, huh?)

Now, just for the sake of clarity, there are as many ways to fix hot dogs as there are people.  We’re just going with the simple “stick-in-fire” method.  So don’t be a hater.

Here’s what you’ll need:
Charcoal
Newspaper
Lighter fluid (not gas)
Hot dogs
Condiments
Buns

Get your fire started. Charcoal, newspaper, lighter fluid.  Add fire.  Stand back.  Take it slow and allow the charcoal to burn for around 30 minutes until you have some nice orange coals. While it’s warming go to the nearby woods and find you a good stick to put your dog on. Free sticks, y’all.

Time to cook. Spread out the coals, watch your dogs carefully, and don’t forget to turn that dog frequently. Think of your dog as a square turn it four times letting it cook around a minute or two on each side. Unless you’re one of those people that like it charred beyond recognition (and that’s okay, I guess).

Time to dress that dog. Options are endless for this: chili, cheese, sauerkraut, onions, relish, slaw, ketchup, mustard, jalapenos, and bananas (just seeing if you’re paying attention).  A true West Virginia hot dog has ketchup, mustard, chili, coleslaw, and onions.

Save some space on the grill for your bun.  It won’t take long at all to toast, and it’s much better if you spread a little butter on that sucker before you throw it on.

Simple.  Have a good old fashioned cookout, and know that you’ll fit right in in our campground.  Because, y’know, it’s the simple things in life that are so… simple.

So that’s the easy way.  Hot dog. Stick. Fire.  What about you?  Got any good hot dog recipes for us out there?