Featured Image Credit: Getty stock images
Topics: Food and Drink, Summer, TikTok
Jen Thomas
Summer is a long way off, but if you're already dreaming of balmy evenings with a barbecue on the go, people are arguing about how to cook hot dogs.
Hands up if you assumed everyone just boiled them in a pan on the hob, or even microwaved them? If that sounds weird, you've seen nothing yet...
People on TikTok are capable of some weird and wonderful things - new trends are forming all the time, but there are also many that you definitely shouldn't try at home.
This hotdog horror falls into one of those. It just doesn't seem like a very good idea.
Advert
Believe it or not, people are actually suggesting that you grill the hot dog sausages on the barbecue... still in their plastic packaging.
Surely that will result in a horrible, molten plastic mess?
One viral video shows the whole packet plonked on a grill, cooking away. The camera zooms in to see the liquid inside bubbling away as the temperature builds.
And social media commenters have reacted badly, asking: "How did the plastic not melt?" while another answered: "Can't eat at everybody's house."
Major trust issues next time you go to a BBQ...
"Microplastics in food anyone?" was one valid point, as another bluntly said: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
"My mom used to boil them in the bag on the stove," recalled another.
However, some people agreed this was an acceptable method: "The only way," and "Yes, you can do this people, it's safe."
Don't blame us for being suspicious.
Someone joked: "I like to get colour on mine... a little char," while another insisted: "Might as well just eat the plastic at this point."
"Brother, how difficult is it to eat them like a regular human being?" quizzed one critic.
Cooking experts at Foodie have given their opinion, saying that leaving the plastic on while cooking is 'one of the biggest' mistakes you can make when cooking the humble hot dog.
They warned: "Plastic packaging is generally not designed to withstand extreme temperatures...it can deform and fuse with the meat." Yum.
Not only that, but the heated-up plastic can also 'leach out substances like phthalates and bisphenol A (also known as BPA) into your food', as they add: "The effects of some of these chemicals are not yet fully understood, but based on the evidence available thus far, they can be harmful to the human body, particularly the reproductive system and brain."
It can also cause larger flames to flare up if melted plastic drips into it, and it will taint all the other food on the grill.
Who's hungry?