Hot dogs

Cafe Society
1

… Armor hot dogs
What kind of kid eats Armor hot dogs?
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks
Tough kids, sissy kids, even kids with chicken pox love
Hot dogs
Armor hot dogs
The dogs kids love to bite!

(I can’t remember when the last time, if ever, I had a an Armor brand hot dog. But I still remember the '70s jingle.)

In L.A. I could go to Ralph’s supermarket and buy their ‘Private Select’ (store brand) Old Fashioned Franks. They were in the casing so you got the snap when you bit them, and just a bit of ‘zing’. Can’t get 'em up here. I usually get Hebrew National. (Heh. Remembering the Uncle Sam commercial now. ‘We answer to an even Higher Authority.’) Tasty, but not as good as Ralph’s. Then there’s Ball Park Franks (‘They plump when you cook them.’) Oscar Mayer makes hot dogs. Can’t remember the last time I had one. Pretty unremarkable IIRC. I’ve hated Farmer John hot dogs since I was a kid. To me they just tasted bad. (I like their breakfast sausage, though. They’re unavailable up here.)

Locally we have Hempler’s and Bar-S. I think I tried the Bar-S and was glad to be rid of them. Hempler’s didn’t thrill me, though they are thought of as a good brand. Or maybe it was a different sausage I ate (Polish, or something).

So here are the questions: What ‘national brand’ of hot dog (i.e., a brand you can get in just about any supermarket, even if it’s regional like Farmer John, as long as it’s widely available) do you like, and why? Do you like all-beef, pork, or chicken? How do you like them cooked?

I prefer all-beef hot dogs. Grilled hot dogs are the best, but I’m not that particular. At home I’m likely to just toss a dog in the microwave. ‘Roller dogs’ (as I call them, as they are cooked on those roller machines at convenience stores) seem to be the most available, and they’re not bad. Not as good as grilled of course, but better than boiled. 'Boiled? :eek: ’ Yeah, that’s what I had when I was a kid. Boiled Oscar Mayer or (ick) Farmer John. I do not prefer boiled dogs. OTOH, I’ve had some good ‘street dogs’ from steam carts. And I can’t resist Wienerschnitzel Chili Cheese Dogs.

Let’s not get into how to dress a dog. No need for bloodshed in this thread. Just what brand do you like, what meat(s), and how do you like them cooked. Catsup vs. mustard vs. mayo vs. relish vs. whatever has been done to death.

K-A-R-L-S Disco Wiener Haven…

2

Nitpick: it’s “Armour”. My dad worked for their pharmaceutical branch.

Answering the question: I prefer bratwurst (two packs of Johnsonville - one cheese and one New Orleans-style - are in the freezer right now). Usually nuke 'em but some go on the grille when the weather’s nice.

3

I stand corrected.

4

Quarter pound German frankfurters. I forget the brand.

5

Locally, Vienna Beef all beef hot dogs are my pick, in the natural casings. I don’t like hot dogs that are skinless, which is most of them these days. Even the Vienna beefs you pick up at the store are normally skinless, unfortunately. I deal. Of national brands, I like Hebrew National. However, if I visit a hot dog stand and they have skinless dogs, that will likely be my last visit there for hot dogs. The juicy snap of the casing is one of the great joys of eating a good sausage.

Also, the local Polish delis make their own hot dogs and frankfurters. My favorite of these are the veal franks. Pork dogs are good, too, but this is the one sausage I prefer all-beef or all-veal.

6

We alternate between Shofar and Ballpark Beef. Depends on who is doing the shopping and what we are going to be doing with them. For just general “I feel like a hot dog” Ballpark is the brand of choice. If I’m cooking I will probably fire up the gas grill. If the wife is cooking she’ll likely fry them in a skillet with a little butter.

Farmer John dogs are only good 1) as DodgerDogs, 2) grilled, & 3) at Dodger Stadium.

7

I’m partial to Hebrew National hot dogs when I’m buying the hot dogs.

I like them 3 ways: mustard & relish, sauerkraut & mustard (and sometimes grilled onions), and Coney island style (in particular James Coney Island in Houston)- mustard, chili, hot sauce, cheese and onions if I’m in the mood.

I make my own bratwurst, so I don’t have much of an opinion about commercial brands.

8

Yeah, I roll my own bratwurst, too. I haven’t really been able to find one exactly to my tastes, so had to experiment a bit to find what I like. However, Usinger’s from Milwaukee does a decent job.

9

Oscar Meyer beef – we can’t get the really good stuff around here.

But I don’t care, because my friend makes the BEST hot dog relish ever. Sometimes I eat a hot dog just to have an excuse to eat the relish. She could quit her job and make a living selling it, it’s that good.

10

This - a 1000 times this.

Armour is a plauge on humanity as are Ballpark and Oscar Meyer.

11

I’m a hot dog fanatic. I’d eat 'em every day if I could. My father is from Winona, Minnesota, and whenever he goes up there to visit family, he always goes to the same butcher shop that’s been there since he was a kid and buys 15lbs of their hot dogs. When he gets back to Florida he divvies them up between my siblings and I. They’re all connected together in a wonderfully delicious meat-chain, and they’re made with natural casings that give you that great SNAP! when you bite into them. They’re garlicky, peppery heaven. And oddly enough, though I really enjoy a good grilled dog, we’ve found these are much better boiled than grilled.

Mustard, relish, and chopped onions if you please.

“Nobody, I mean NOBODY puts ketchup on a hot dog.” - Harry Callahan

12

It’s been so long since I had any national brand hotdog, I can’t offer an opinion on them. Here in Portland, we have honest-to-og German meat markets, including Otto’s Sausage Kitchen, about a half mile from here. They always have a grill set up outside the storefront and there’s a line to get their dogs. Oh, and you can mail order from them. :cool:

There was a hot dog cart here in the 'hood for awhile that had a killer jalapeno dog, served with pico, avocados and sour cream/guacamole sauce. I curse the day they dragged anchor. I guess business wasn’t that good.

13

I’d like to keep the condiment arguments out of the thread.

14

What argument? I just see a statement of fact there. :wink:

15

Johnny, have you ever tried any of the homemade dogs at Bavarian Meats at Pike Place Market? Or does the siren call of Uli’s lure you away from their door?

16

I never think of them. They’re tucked away somewhere, and I only find the shop accidentally. I’ll have to give them a try, though. Uli doesn’t make hot dogs. (If he did, they’d probably be pork.)

I’ll bet a BM BM would be sausage-shaped.

17

I think if I was going to go all the way to Seattle, I’d head for Salumi rather than look for a hot dog.:stuck_out_tongue:

18

Well, I go to Seattle three days a week. :wink:

19

Hebrew National (though awfully salty) and in a pinch, Sabrette’s. (We have locally made franks and coneys (a white sausage that looks like a hot dog but has different seasonings) with the natural casings, and really, there’s no comparison. I have the occasional daydream where I enter a hot-dog eating contest and so have permission to just go wild…)

20

I bought hot dogs today for supper tonight. I buy either Hebrew National or Nathan’s for home cooking. We get a lot of our meat from a local farm (pasture raised/humane treatment of animals, environmentally sustainable, blah, blah, blah) but their hot dogs are too dry and sausagey for those times when I want a nice weiner.

When I was a kid, I understood that chicken came from chickens, hamburg and pot roast and steak came from cows, pork chops and ham and bacon came from pigs, but I always asked my dad where hot dogs came from. His stock answer was “sweepings from the meat room floor” which I figured was another one of his teasing Dad remarks. Then I grew up and realized he wasn’t that far off the mark.

Still love me some hot dogs though! I prefer them with mustard, dill relish, onions and a little dribble of ketchup to provide a little sweet in contrast to all that savory flavor.