Take Hot Dogs To The Next Level This Summer By Giving Them The Burrito Treatment

Hot dogs are undeniably the food of the summer. No one is going to say no to a crispy, charred dog at a barbecue, especially when it's paired with an array of tasty toppings. However, there is one factor that can often present a problem: the bun.

Okay, okay, there are more than enough great store-bought hot dog bun brands out there, which one of our tasters tried and ranked, but the issue here is that the buns are not always structurally fit for the hot dog. You need something that is going to contain the frank and all of its topping friends, rather than disintegrating. The far better solution, then, is to ditch your buns for something better: tortillas. The hot dog purists may scoff here, but it does work — remarkably well, in fact. Once your dog is cooked, plop it into your tortilla (one of our tasters ranked those, too), and roll it up neatly before giving it a toast. The result is an easy-to-eat, non-messy hot dog that focuses on the meat of the sandwich rather than its friable wrapper.

The nice thing about this burrito/tortilla hack is that you don't need to stick to conventional hot dog toppings. Although chili, cheese, and crushed Fritos chips would be excellent for a less messy, chili cheese dog-inspired wrap, you could also lean more Tex-Mex with black beans and rice. Bacon would be another excellent addition, as its natural saltiness would play off the flavor of the dogs well. 

We also love the idea of playing with different types of cheese in this wrap. For one, you could add a layer of melty cheese to create a quesadilla-inspired dog, or potentially even roll the grilled dog up in a quesadilla for a simple lunch (and an even better way to use up leftover hot dogs). Pair it with a tasty dipping sauce, like store-bought chipotle sauce (which one of our reviewers tried and ranked), for a satisfying, bun-free bite.