Favorite Franks/Hot Dogs

Preferably not local. We have taken a shine to Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks; not to be confused with their Low Fat Beef Franks. Originally bought some because Bev was/is on a low fat diet. These have 1.5 grams of fat each.

To my surprise they are terrific Quite spicy and otherwise as satisfiying as any other dog tried in recent times. Have provided them to descriminating children and grandchildren, and found approval all around.

Hebrew National here as well, but none of that Nancy Boy fat-free stuff.

Hebrew National here also. But the non-dietary style (full fat version) is sometimes hard to find. If we can't find them, then Eckrich or Hillshire Farms each have a really nice smoked sausages that we can sub with.

Richard

I'm a fan of Hebrew National and David Berg here.

of course, being in Chicago, I eat a lot of (and enjoy), Vienna Beef too. Only way to make a real chicago dog.

Try Bests, too. Love those.

John Morrel all beef.

[Jenise]

Another vote for Hebrew Nationals, although we have a local specialty pork producer naned Hempler who makes an old fashioned frank that is very similar to the dogs at Pinks in Los Angeles, if anyone's familiar with that fast food landmark, that we loved the one time we had them. The skins have a SNAP! when you bite into them that makes the hot dog experience truly special.

Hebrew National here too.

Sabrett.
Boar's Head makes a good one, too, or at least they did. Not the ones in the package, but the loose ones, on a string.
Finally, there's a brand out there called Big City Reds - big, oversized dogs that are quite tasty when grilled.

[Robin Garr]

Sabrett.
Boar's Head makes a good one, too, or at least they did. Not the ones in the package, but the loose ones, on a string.
Finally, there's a brand out there called Big City Reds - big, oversized dogs that are quite tasty when grilled.

I like Sabrett also, including the cool blue umbrellas on the wagons.

I've always thought Boar's Head meats and cheeses in general are high-quality food made for people who don't like food and want everything they eat to be as bland as possible.

I want to open a provocative tangent, though, one that might rank up there with limes vs lemons: I've never been fond of kosher hot dogs, regardless of brand, simply because of the fundamental reality that hot dogs - like barbecue - really <i>need</i> to be made from pork. A beef hot dog is kind of like a polyester suit: An approximate, unsatisfactory imitation of the real thing.

Interesting Robin...I thought all hot dogs were beef based, and that kosher ones just didn't have any "bad" fillers. I used to like Sabretts, but I have had one to many with grizzle...and I can't stand to bite into something hard when eating my hot dog. When I was younger, I used to like "Best" hot dogs...do they even still exist?

[Robin Garr]

Interesting Robin...I thought all hot dogs were beef based, and that kosher ones just didn't have any "bad" fillers.

Good question, Maria! I wonder if it might be a regional thing, with kosher/beef hot dogs most popular in parts of the country with a relatively large Jewish population. It seems to me (without doing any real research ) that in the Midwest and South pork is the "default" hot dog unless the consumer specifies beef.

There's some interesting, albeit commercial, information on the Website of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, an industry trade association. Including the following:

<b>What exactly is in a hot dog?</b>

The ingredients in hot dogs have been the subject of much humor, rumor and speculation. But the answer is less exciting than the question.

All hot dogs are cured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chicken and turkey or a combination of meat and poultry. Meats used in hot dogs come from the muscle of the animal and looks much like what you buy in the grocer's case. Other ingredients include water, curing agents and spices, such as garlic, salt, sugar, ground mustard, nutmeg, coriander and white pepper.

If variety meats such as liver and hearts are used in processed meats, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires the manufacturer to declare those ingredients on the package with the statement "with variety meats" or "with meat by-products." The manufacturer must then specify which variety meat is included. In the U.S., companies are required to list ingredients in order, from the main ingredient, to the least ingredient.

Robin, when I lived in Chicago...I only ate Vienna Beef hot dogs...which I am assuming are only beef. So I am thinking that in the midwest, hot dogs are beef based as well. Am I incorrect in this assumption?

[Robin Garr]

Robin, when I lived in Chicago...I only ate Vienna Beef hot dogs...which I am assuming are only beef. So I am thinking that in the midwest, hot dogs are beef based as well. Am I incorrect in this assumption?

Maria, we get Chicago-style hot dogs here, and it's true that they're beef as far as I know.

All I can do is fall back again on my personal experience: To me, "hot dog" without a modifier means pork, with "beef dog" or "turkey dog" as necessary terms to define the exceptions to the rule.

I think this is true of old-line Louisville meat packers like Fischer's. I wonder about other old-time stockyards towns ... Omaha, Kansas City ... anybody know whether pork is the standard hot-dog meat there?

Resident curmudgeon here.

To hell with all frankfurters/hot dogs.

Never liked them. Never been slightly tempted to acquire a taste for them. Not while there's REAL sausage and bratwurst, andouille, etc. around.

Bah, humbug.

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

Never liked them. Never been slightly tempted to acquire a taste for them.

And if you were a married man, I'll bet you'd have had only one child.

[James Roscoe]

The best hot dogs are Dietz and Watson, hands down. Everyone may go home as the argument is now over. I believe they are pork as well.

I do prefer a bratwurst or a knockwurst if the opportunity arises. Please pass the kraut and a good pilsner. I suppose I should also don my lederhosen.

The best hot dogs are Dietz and Watson, hands down. Everyone may go home as the argument is now over. I believe they are pork as well.

Hah! Those knuckleheads came out here a few years back and tried to sell us on that very proposition.
They are very good at telling you how very good they are - but when we put the products to the test, we found their entire line lacking. More importantly, the customers found the same thing.
Maybe it's a regional thing.

I've always thought Boar's Head meats and cheeses in general are high-quality food made for people who don't like food and want everything they eat to be as bland as possible.

My problem with Boar's Head is that they've tried to be everything to everyone. When they come into a deli - they want the whole case. So they have turkey, and Italian type salumi, and even cheese. But the truth is, those things were never their strengths.
Boar's Head made a good boiled ham, a good peppered ham, and what I thought were good versions of bologna and olive loaf, and they had a decent ham capacolla. Oh, and the hot dogs.

The other stuff, we always got from different purveyors.

here in Chicago dogs are definitely all beef. But in other parts of midwest I have noticed same thing as Robin, that it seems that at least some, if not all pork, seems to be requirement.

As always of course, you should eat what you like. Only rule being no ketchup once you're over age of 18.

Sabrett.

Where do you get those out here, John? And can you get the onion sauce, too?

I have been toying with the idea of pushing a Sabrett's cart down along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. I figure North Eastern visitors would relish a real dirty water dog after a few days of sprouts and crab.

Sabrett.

Where do you get those out here, John? And can you get the onion sauce, too?

I have been toying with the idea of pushing a Sabrett's cart down along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. I figure North Eastern visitors would relish a real dirty water dog after a few days of sprouts and crab.

Well, if money is no object, you can try here.
The shipping charge is kind of stiff, so the more you buy, the more you spread it out.

Sabrett.

Where do you get those out here, John? And can you get the onion sauce, too?

I have been toying with the idea of pushing a Sabrett's cart down along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. I figure North Eastern visitors would relish a real dirty water dog after a few days of sprouts and crab.

Well, if money is no object, you can try here.
The shipping charge is kind of stiff, so the more you buy, the more you spread it out.

Thanks. I was aware of the online sources. I just sorta hoped that someone out here had "imported" them already. But that's OK. There' always my own pushcart.