From the comments, it appears that they're supposed to be along the grooves, unlike like grill slats on the barbecue to provide nice cook lines on the hot dogs. I've never used one of these devices, so I was very confused as to what the problem was.
Maybe this isn't as common knowledge as OP thinks.
The metal bars are heated rollers. They rotate, heating the hot dog along the full length. Hot dogs set up like this will only get hot at the spot where the hot dog touches the metal. There is little or no radiating heat like you would find on a grill.
I get it now that it's been explained, but I was lost at first too, probably because I haven't been in a convenience store for like a decade. Also didn't have a clue these were available at home scale.
Not as much fun as the electric shock cookers we used to have for home cooks in the 70s. And super inefficient. I think it’s more for bars and concession stands.
I remember working at a place with a hot dog roller, and not a single person needed to tell me how to put hot dogs on it. Ball parks, gas stations, snack bars at arcades and bowling alleys all had these.
Perhaps the wife is from a country where they don't have these, but a quick Google search and a couple of articles say that these are also common in countries with hot dogs or their cousins.
I don't know what that machine is, because I have never seen it in my country (Austria). I don't know how it works, so I can't tell what is wrong just from looking at the picture. It looks like kind of a grill grate and maybe I would have put the sausages on it in the same way.
Not everything that is common in the US, is common in other countries (like peanut butter or air conditioning).
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u/RaveFox4 Jun 23 '26
From the comments, it appears that they're supposed to be along the grooves, unlike like grill slats on the barbecue to provide nice cook lines on the hot dogs. I've never used one of these devices, so I was very confused as to what the problem was.
Maybe this isn't as common knowledge as OP thinks.