Everybody loves a delicious hot dog every now and then, with their soft buns and tender meat. However, there will be times where you find yourself with many more hot dog buns than hot dog sausages.
You wouldn’t want to waste the bread, so what can you do? Freeze them!
Freezing any leftover hot dog buns is a great trick to stop the buns from expiring and going mouldy, allowing you to use them at a later date. However, in order to use them later on, you’ll need to defrost the hot dog buns properly. How do you do this?
There are many different ways you can defrost your hot dog buns simply, and we’ve got them all covered in our handy guide below!
The short answer is that the easiest method to defrost your hot dog buns is through leaving each at room temperature on your counter for 1-4 hours.
Meanwhile, the quickest method is to put the frozen hot dog buns inside the microwave and heat them for 15 to 20 seconds each go, flipping them over at each interval to ensure an even defrosting.
However, there’s plenty more methods for defrosting your hot dog buns, and we’ve got them all explained below.
How To Defrost Hot Dog Buns (4 Useful Methods)
There are 4 different methods you can choose from to defrost your hot dog buns and they all work well – simply pick which is most convenient for you!
Defrosting Hot Buns In Your Oven/Toaster Oven
This method takes a little longer than some other methods, but the result speaks for itself, because you’ll get hot dog buns which are less soggy and much more toasted.
Turn on your oven and preheat it to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unwrap your frozen hot dog buns, then place on a baking sheet with space between each one.
Put the baking sheet into the preheated oven.
Bake the buns at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-10 minutes. If you want each bun to be extra toasty, let them bake for longer, but make sure you don’t let them burn.
Enjoy with a nice hot dog!
How To Defrost Hot Dog Buns Inside The Microwave
Alternatively, the quickest method to defrost your hot dog buns is through putting them inside the microwave. This is a great method if you’re in a hurry.
However, there is a chance that the buns will be soggier than you like. They won’t be toasted and crisp!
Set the microwave on its medium level of power, also known as 50% to 80% power settings. Alternatively, your microwave might have its own setting for defrosting.
Unwrap your frozen hot dog buns and arrange them on a plate that is safe for microwave use. Try to leave space between the buns so they don’t touch each other.
Wrap the hot dog buns inside a piece of paper towel (make sure it’s dry!). This will help to absorb moisture, reducing the chance of the buns going soggy.
Heat the buns inside your microwave for 15 to 20 seconds, then flip the buns over to ensure an even defrosting.
Heat them for another 15 to 20 seconds, before flipping them again, and keep using this alternating process until the buns are fully thawed. This shouldn’t take long, typically 45 seconds to a minute.
Are the hot dog buns dry coming out? Add a sprinkling of water to them, then heat them for a further 15 to 20 seconds slot.
Your buns should now be thawed and ready to enjoy.
How To Defrost Hot Dog Buns In The Air Fryer
If you have an air fryer, then you’ll be able to use it to defrost your frozen hot dog buns too! Even better, it’s a simple and quick process.
Turn your air fryer on and preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unwrap your frozen hot dog buns.
Place the hot dog buns in a single layer onto your air fryer’s basket. Try to leave a gap between each bun and ensure that the buns have their open side facing upwards.
Heat the buns inside your preheated air fryer for about 3-5 minutes, at which point they should be hot and their bread surfaces will be toasted. Make sure not to leave them much longer, because they will burn.
Enjoy your defrosted, toasty hot dog bun!
How To Defrost Hot Dog Buns On Your Counter
Finally, the easiest method for defrosting hot dog buns involves leaving them bread at room temperature on the kitchen counter. This requires very little effort, but does take a long time, so account for that in advance.
Take your buns from the freezer and leave each at room temperature on the kitchen counter.
If there isn’t much frost in the bun’s bag, you can leave the buns inside the bag while they defrost.
However, lots of frost in the bag means lots of moisture, which will make your buns soggy. So, if your bun has lots of frost, remove the buns from their bag then leave them on the counter on their own.
Every 20 to 30 minutes, flip each bun over, ensuring it doesn’t go soggy.
Defrosting your buns this way can take 1-4 hours, depending on the temperature and other factors.
Enjoy them when thawed!
How To Freeze Any Leftover Hot Dog Buns
If you’re wondering how to freeze your hot dog buns to begin with, it’s easy! It’s a great trick to stop your buns going off for a while.
Freeze your buns immediately – don’t let them go stale first.
Wrap each bun individually, not together, so that they don’t suffer freezer burn.
Wrap each bun in a freeze bag, airtight container, or some plastic wrap and place each one inside your freezer.
Do Frozen Hot Dogs Go Off?
Even though freezing foods allows them to last a lot longer than they normally would,the food will eventually go off even inside the freezer. On top of that, even if it doesn’t expire for a while, it will still lose its taste the longer you leave it frozen.
Your frozen hot dog buns should stay fresh for about 1-3 months, after which point you can still eat them but they simply won’t taste as good. Since taste is everything, it’s worth defrosting your hot dog buns before 3 months have passed!
Final Thoughts
Freezing your hot dog buns is a great trick to stop them from expiring so quickly, instead allowing you to enjoy them at a later date.
Whether you defrost them with an oven, microwave, air fryer, or simply by leaving the bread at room temperature, our guide will help you!
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
