The American Hot Dog, Brands We’ve Tried

Lesson

They’re franks, weenies, red hots, coneys, frankfurters, dogs, wieners, or just plain old hot dogs. We order them by any name, and boy, how we love them!

Some hot dogs are made from the old standard pork and pork mixtures.  More and more of the popular varieties now contain all-beef.  But there’s also newer chicken, soy, turkey, veal, lamb, duck, vegetarian, and even foie gras varieties. Cheap dogs are just over a dollar apiece, while the more expensive ones go for around $16 a pound.

Some interesting statistics from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council:

Additional interesting statistics can be found here.

As far as cooking tips, hot dogs are inordinately simple to prepare. You can grill, broil, bake, steam, boil, microwave (shudder), or even fry the ubiquitous hot dog.

Some brands we’ve enjoyed

While we don’t endorse any particular brand of hot dog, we did want to share with you some of the brands we’ve enjoyed in our quest for great dogs. There are dozens of other regional and local brands we’ve not yet discovered; in fact, searching for “hot dog brands” on the internet returns over 22,000,000 responses. Man, we’d never finish eating them all.

The following list is alphabetical. We didn’t pick a number one choice. Some are available at national markets, some are available online, and others are only available if you’re in their hometown. But, believe us, all are worth the trouble to find so you can cook them up on your own grill.

Buffalo Guys – Praised by Bon Appétit magazine, these hot dogs look smaller than normal dogs but are loaded with flavor. They’re one of our favorites. Made from lean all-buffalo meat, they tend to cook very fast, but, properly grilled, these skinless franks are delicious and moist. The ingredients are all-natural, contain no MSG, fillers, nitrates or nitrites, and have half the calories of most beef dogs. www.thebuffaloguys.com/our_products.asp

Hoffy’s NC Beef – We’ll share a secret: These guys make the hot dogs served at the legendary Pink’s hot dog stand on the corner of Melrose Ave. and La Brea in Los Angeles. These natural-casing hot dogs are made from premium beef and until recently were only served at a dozen or so LA restaurants and a bunch of Las Vegas casino eateries. Their natural casing hot dogs are so good that crazed people have been known to drive hundreds of miles for a Pink’s hot dog. Thank heavens they’re conveniently open weekends until 3am, weekdays till 2am. Earlier this summer, they began selling the same hot dogs at the Smart & Final chain of grocery stores. www.pinkshollywood.com

Lobel’s Hot Dogs – Hand-fashioned by an 80-year-old Austrian wiener-maker in Brooklyn, NY. Lobel’s butcher shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is well-known for fantastic luxury meats at fantastically high prices. But their hot dogs are as good as we’ve ever had, despite costing $16 a pound. They are so good they’re worth that much, maybe even more. Long, thin, all-beef with a natural lamb casing, and a wonderful “snap” when you bite into one. If you can afford ’em, they’re one of the top hot dogs in the country, in our opinion. www.lobels.com

Nathan’s Famous – Still going strong after a mere 92 years on Coney Island, these are probably the best-known premium hot dogs in America. Available online or at select regional grocery stores from coast to coast. All-beef, with a natural sheep casing that snaps at you when you bite in. A visit to the original location in Coney Island, and a stand-up lunch at the frenzied grill, is a must for truly red-blooded hot dog aficionados. Many think these franks in a roll are America’s premier hot dogs. shop.nathansfamous.com/hotdogs

Niman Ranch – Uncured All-Beef Fearless Franks are made from beef from the famed California cattle ranch of the same name. Very large, very juicy, nitrate-hormone-antibiotic-free hot dogs. These folks are very big on stress-free movement of their cattle and humane handling and processing. The meat they sell at the ranch store and online is some of the best, most carefully processed, and flavorful in America. By the way, it’s pronounced “nEYE-man.” kelli.harrington@nimanranch.com

Sabretts – The original New York pushcart-style frankfurter sold on every street corner in New York under the famous blue and yellow umbrellas. Another natural-casing frank, steamed or grilled, then served up simply with mustard and their own mouthwatering special-formula onion sauce. To many, it’s the essence of a great hot dog. Available nationally online and at about a zillion pushcarts on the streets of the Big Apple. info@sabrett.com

Vienna Beef – Founded in 1893 by Austrian-Hungarian immigrants Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany at the historic Columbian Exposition, this frankfurter is the most important part of the quintessential Chicago Dog. These hickory-smoked Vienna beef hot dogs with their famed “salad on top” and the mixture of textures and flavors (hot and cold, crisp and soft, sharp and smooth, sweet and spicy) are an original American fast food and a local culinary institution. Don’t forget to get the poppy seed buns too. Otherwise, it’s not an “official” Windy City hot dog. On their website, go to the “Hot Dog Culture” section and get an illustrated lesson in how to make a “proper” Chicago hot dog. www.viennabeef.com