Air Fryer Octodogs (Octopus Hot Dogs)
Buy our air fryer e-cookbooks today These adorable air fryer octopus hot dogs are always a kids favorite. They’re not scary at all. Instead, these delicious air fryer octodogs are a popular kids snack that’s so easy to make. The crispy edges make them extra delicious.
What are Octodogs or Octopus Hot Dogs?
You take a hot dog and cut eight strips out of one half of the hot dog. These are the ocotopus legs of the hot dog. Then when you air fry the hot dogs, the cut strips curl to be the ocotopus legs. They’re so fun! They’ve been around for a while and really nothing new. But with the popularity of air fryers, this cooking technology makes air frying octodogs so much quicker. Best of all, they taste better. These originated as cute and whimsical snacks in kids bento lunch boxes. Now they’re loved in households all around the world.
Why Air Fryer Octopus Hot Dogs?
Because they taste so much better when the hot circulating air crisps the octodog legs. There’s different methods to making octodogs and everyone has their favorite method. But each method results in different textures.
- Air Frying Octopus Hot Dogs: This is hands down the best method because it’s quicker than oven cooking. No pre-heating of the oven or having to boil water first. Within just a few minutes, the hot dog starts to curl and become an octopus. And best of all, the crispy edges make each bite more crispy and not soggy.
- Boiling: sure you can boil these but they definitely don’t get as crispy. They’re soft.
- Microwaving: a quick way is to microwave octodogs. But again, they’re soft and slippery. Not crispy like you would get when air fried.
- Roasting in the oven or baking: Why even do this? It’s a waste of time to make something so simple. It’s takes so long to pre-heat a conventional oven just to roast some hot dogs. Don’t do it. Just throw them in your air fryer. Done.
Video: Air Fryer Octodogs Recipe
How to Cut Hot Dogs Correctly
It’s not rocket science to cut the hot dog into 8 strips for the legs. But it can be tricky if you end up with less than 8 or one breaks off. The answer? Who cares. As long as you get at least 4 legs, they’ll curl enough to look like an octopus. Or squid or what ever 4 legged creature you want to call it. Kids don’t care. As long as you have ketchup, mustard or ranch your kids will have a great time.
Air Fryer Octopus Hot Dogs “Octodogs”
Ingredients
- 4 hot dogs
- Condiments of Choice (ketchup, mustard, mayo, bbq sauce, ranch, etc.)
Equipment
Instructions
- Cut hot dogs in half.
- Cut a slit through the hot dogs 3/4’s the length of the hot dog. Don’t cut all the way through the top because you need it for the octopus head and eyes.
- Rotate 90 degrees and cut another slice, 3/4’s the length of the hot dog. You will have 4 octopus legs. If you want a legit octopus, slit each leg in half again to make 8 legs.
- Using tip of knife, cut out a little hole for the mouth.
- To make eyes, use a chopstick to poke 2 holes in the hot dog.
- Place hot dogs with legs spread down on the air fryer basket or tray.
- Lightly spray tor brush the hot dogs with a light layer of cooking oil.
- Air fry at 400°F (205°C) for 4 minutes.
- Check the octodogs and continue to air fry for another 1-4 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
- Serve with your favorite condiments.
If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Easy Hot Dog Recipes in the Air Fryer
We’re pretty obsessed about air frying hot dogs. If you want to deep dive more into this hot dog world, check out all our air fryer hot dog recipes.
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- cheese dogs
- air fried chicken hot dogs
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