The Smartest Way To Toast New England-Style Hot Dog Buns

New England-style hot dog buns are a tried and true item in the kitchen and have become an essential piece in many people's most beloved recipes. Also known as top-split hot dog rolls as they're sliced through the top of the bun rather than the side (as compared to traditional side-split hot dog buns), these rolls are uniquely soft and chewy, rendering them the perfect vessel for a variety of popular dishes.

It may come as a surprise to find out that New England-style hot dog buns were not originally produced for a fully loaded hot dog straight from the grill, as their name suggests. Instead, they were made sometime in the 1940s in Maine for strips of clam, according to Yankee Magazine's website New England. From there, its reputation spread all over New England (and the United States as a whole) and nowadays finds itself at the center of some of the Northeast's most popular dishes particularly, the iconic lobster roll. But one critical question remains: How should you toast them to give you the most satisfying bun, whether it be for some gameday hot dogs or an exquisite lobster roll?

The flat, soft sides of New England-style hot dog buns make them harder to toast in the conventional way, that is, splitting the bun open and laying the inside face-down flat on your cooking surface. Instead, the trick is to toast New England-style buns only on the outside flat surface as opposed to toasting the inside as well, as you may do with traditional side-split buns.

One of the key steps in this process is making sure that both sides of the bun are coated evenly with butter. You could in theory use any other oil of your choice, but butter will enhance the decadent flavors already present in the buns, and will give you a scrumptious crispy surface when toasted. Both outer sides of your buns should then be toasted on a hot surface until they're golden brown. 

This method works whether you buy pre-split buns from the store or make them from scratch. However, if you make the buns yourself, it's best to toast them like this before you split them. This will make sure they toast as evenly as possible. Even if yours come pre-split, they'll still toast quite uniformly using this method, and you'll be left with a tasty, buttery outer surface that elevates the unique characteristics of New England-style buns perfect for traditional Northeast seafood rolls and bahn-mi-inspired hot dogs alike.