I don't know where you're located or whether they'd even be available to you, but around here it's Hoffmann's hotdogs w/ natural casings! They were a family-owned business for MANY years, but were bought out by the Oneida Indian Nation a little over a year ago.

I used to be a Hebrew National fan until they changed the formula. Then our little grocery store started carrying Boar's Head Skinless Beef Hot Dogs, which are gluten-free, sugar free, and lower in sodium than most other brands. We don't have them very often, but really like this brand.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Boar's Head Products

Former poster "Unorthodoxepicure" was big into hot dogs and recommended Dietz & Watson. Unfortunately I have yet to find them.

(Thanks for the reminder - he's got a great blog which I haven't visited in a while.)

I really like Thumann's that my inlaws buy at Costco.

Nathans usually comes out on top in most taste tests. When we have to buy, that's the one we get.

But we buy locally now, the creamery that delivers our milk makes hot dogs - beef, pork, etc and they are the best I've had.

Many grocery stores now carry "gourmet" hot dogs, try some taste testing on your own till you find what you like.

After the "pink slime" discussions, I don't buy national brands anymore. One of our local grocery stores makes their own (sans "pink slime") and they're good. Mostly, we just don't eat hot dogs these days. My stomach rolls a tiny bit just thinking about them. Too bad 'cause I used to really enjoy a good hot dog.

/tricia

I bought Hebrew National a couple of weeks ago (knockwurst) and they were so full of salt we could hardly eat them. The last time I bought Boar's Head they were good. We don't eat hot dogs that much. I personally like the natural casings the best, but when the kids come I have to buy the wimpy ones because they think the snappy ones are gross.

we like ballpark franks.

I'm not a hot dog fan and normally refuse to eat them at all, with the exception of one A&W chili dog per summer (which always gives me heartburn and generally upsets me, but I just have to, for some reason)

Other than that one seasonal splurge, I occasionally eat a Koegel's Vienna if they are cooked over a campfire. They are also gluten free, but not kosher because they contain milk products as well as beef and pork. No cereal fillers, though. And yes, I know they aren't really a "hot dog".

They also have chicken viennas, although they are made with "mechanically separated" chicken, which is the poultry equivalent of pink slime. I haven't tried one of them and I'm not likely to.

Annie

I'm not a big hot dog fan but when we have them, they have to be Essem Natural Casing dogs. Boiled or grilled until they split...yum!

I eat sausage instead of traditional hot dogs, but you can put sausage on a bun and call it a hot dog. The last ones we got were from Bristol Farms and were spicy Italian turkey, but I also like the local Jody Maroni's from Venice Beach that I could walk to from my previous residence. I think they have a mail-order service.

Lars

FOAS-- fyi I think Dietz and Watson cold cuts are really mediocre. I'm not a hot dog lover-- usually one Hebrew National grilled in the summer- but if I'm buying cold cuts, FWIW, I find Boars Head to be far superior.

SInce I avoid garlic, onion and such, most sausages aren't good for me. DH likes the chicken sausages with fontina and spinach from Trader Joes or for breakfast -Wellshire Farms Turkey Maple from Whole Foods.

Nathan's Hot dogs--the best!!!

Rita - I've got that same problem. I far prefer natural casing but the kids won't eat them. Sometimes I buy both, but that's a little ridiculous. (Kind of like I have to buy two brands of Mac and Cheese - one kid only eats Kraft and the other only Stouffers, but that's a different conversation altogether!)

Ellen - Good to know, I feel less deprived! I also buy Boars Head cold cuts pretty much exclusively. They're the standard here; if you don't specify brand that's what you'll get.

I like Nathan's NC hot dogs but find their skinless offputting. It seems to be packed in gross slime. First time I bought them I threw them out thinking they had gone bad.

I've also enjoyed Papaya King, but they're not as common to find.

I grew up in an area with many German immigrants and local hot dog brands. As a special treat, my parents occasionally send us a care package of the Hofman's hot dogs that party_music mentioned.

I can't get any of the brands I grew up on where I live now but Dietz and Watson natural casing weiners are a good substitute. I don't care for all beef hot dogs because I find them too oily and salty.

Here in Southern Wisconsin,we get Chicago hot dogs, they aren't cheap and there's only 5 to a package but worth it. If I can't find them I try the deli, you can usually find good one's there.

Sabretts.

Maggie now you've got me wondering if it's Nathan's or Sabbrett's with the slime on the skinless. Definitely one of the two.

Nathan's! It's the only hot dog I buy.

Nothing good about slime...

Hot dogs. Eew. Kinda disgusting and i can't believe they are as American as apple pie.
But work takes me to Coney Island once or twice a year and a powerful magnet draws me into Nathans every single time. Yum, feel sick, but worth it.

I refuse to buy them so we use a lamb merguez sausage instead with greek type toppings and DH makes homemade buns. Sporting event parties i announce that guests have to bring their favorite dogs if they want them. (and they always do for their kids) What is it with kids at a certain age even with super healthy granola parents that have to have hot dogs and cardboard box mac-n-cheese? They do trick them with a better quality and Annie's box mac but huh?

Being in Chicago, I have strong opinions on hot dogs. They must be kosher beef, on a poppy seed bun with bright yellow mustard, neon green relish, chopped onions, sport peppers, and topped with a sprinkle of celery salt. Adding a slice of tomato and a spear of dill pickle is also recommended. NO ketchup...that's for babies.

If you buy them from a German deli/butcher, you have a frankfurter. Never served on a bun but with potato salad and cucumber salad on the side. And use a Dijon style mustard please, the hotter the better.

The best IMHO is either Vienna kosher or Hebrew National, but Costco dogs are pretty good too.

Anyone else getting a chuckle out of the commercial for dogs wrapped in dough for dinner? Dad and I looked at each other and said "I don't think so". Weren't they called Pigs in a Blanket and served at cocktail parties?

I have found independent butchers make some of the best I have ever had. When I lived closer to Syracuse I liked Hoffman's but loved Liehs & Steigerwald's.

Well, I feel the all beef hot dogs are missing something ---hmmmm PORK. We shop at Sam's Club and can only find all beef hot dogs there. There is definitely a difference.

Pork is the answer to a really great hot dog.

I had a friend introduce me to Kayem hot dogs and they had the natural casings on them... the were quite good, but I'll admit that when I am in the mood for a hot dog, it's because I'm nostalgic for something I had as a kid so I go for ball park franks... not very prestigious, but comforting :o)

Gainlady: When did Hebrew National change the formula? We don't eat hotdogs that often, but had the HN's(our favorite) this summer and thought they were terrible-GK's wouldn't eat them!

Am glad to hear Boar's Head make hot dogs-will have to try them.

Liz

lizbeth-gardener-

I guess it's been a couple years ago, or so....not really sure. They started adding Hydrolyzed Soy Protein and I try to avoid soy products as much as possible. Boar's Head also had less sodium and not as much garlic, which I could happily live without. Boar's Head Lite hot dogs only have 270 mg sodium, compared to 490 mg sodium in Hebrew National Reduced Fat.

-Grainlady

Kahns from Cincinnati, Ohio area. Used to be able to buy them at Publix in Atlanta but no more.
Mary

Kahns from Cincinnati, Ohio area. Used to be able to buy them at Publix in Atlanta but no more.
Mary

Kahns from Cincinnati, Ohio area. Used to be able to buy them at Publix in Atlanta but no more.
Mary

Zwiegles White Hots!!"

Zwiegles White Hots!!"

Irm a Chicagoan and I'm with Peppi Kramer. Vienna (brand) kosher style hot dogs___Thats it. Narrow minded and opinionated, yes indeed.

German sausage, bratwurst, or kielbasa for me.

You see, hot dogs are food that lives in your memory. You eat them because you once ate them, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

For me, my hot dog nirvana was Top Dog on Durant St in Berkeley. In 1977, a college kid with $2 in his pocket could get a fat juicy brat, load up the bun with a meal's worth of sauerkraut and onions, and read the political quotes and wry cartoons on the wall instead of studying for his midterms. I lived on Top Dogs in college, just as I later lived on Top Ramen in grad school. So today, every hot dog I eat has to measure up to that mythical Top Dog from last century. And their best dog was the mighty brat.

The last time I was at Top Dog, it was 1 am and the two of us were in tuxedos for some reason. A scrawny college kid called me "sir". Sigh - but the brat heaped with kraut still tasted good.

I suppose cooking hot dogs using Modernist high tech scientific method was what got me started cooking.

When I was a very little kid, a bunch of neighborhood kids would steal hot dogs from their homes and brought them to me. I was able to splice two wires, tied the ends of each wire with a nail. Jam the nails on each end of the hot dog. Then I would stick the other ends of the wires into a live electric socket. In a minute, the hot dog would be electrically cooked steaming hot.

I was a very popular kid.

To this day, I enjoy hot dogs regularly. I don't have a favorite brand. I mostly grill them today.

dcarch

dcarch -

You crack me up with your daring and inventiveness. :-)

I butterfly hot dogs and grill them (indoors or out) opened up and flat. They fit my homemade hot dog buns perfectly that way. Somehow I have my hubby convinced these are his "special" hot dogs (akin to wiping flour on your face after you've made Rice Krispy Treats to feign how much work they take commercial). But at least they are NOT his mother's boiled in water hot dogs......(LOL)

-Grainlady

Uggh, boiled. In NYC we call the street vendor fare 'dirty water dogs'.

My dad always split and pan seared, split side down, on a toasted bun, cut side down, topped with baked beans.

Ahh, so Dcarch has a long history . . .

We still like Hebrew National, just rarely.

Here is a link that might be useful: Speaking of hot dogs---

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 10:53

The hot dogs from the Amish stand at the Farmers Market. Stolzfus of Intercourse, PA (giggle). From the grocery store, Dietz & Watson.

Here is a link that might be useful: Intercourse meat makers

Anyone remember Dog N' Suds? When I was a kid I refused to eat hamburgers so after the fast-food run to McDonalds for the rest of the kids, my parents stopped there just for me. What a pampered kid.

Haven't had a hot dog in a long time, but I do love brats cooked in beer then on the grill. It is my WI/MN heritage.

I like Koegels the best as a coney dog. Michigan is the coney dog capital of the world it seems and they're everywhere with their regional differences and arguments over who makes the best. I always go to the original Coney Island in downtown Port Huron for a couple whenever I'm over there. Apparently it's the oldest coney island in the state. The recipe is online here.. I made some and it's pretty close to theirs

Here is a link that might be useful: Port Huron coney sauce

For me the absolute best are the red hot dogs you can only find in norhthern Maine--yum! My cousin, who lives in Washington, has them shipped out to him.

Just a little tip,everones mentioning boars head.I thought wow must be good meats not so,my nutritionalist says usually more expensive meats are the worst for you..

bulldinkie-

I'm not sure I would take the advise of a "nutritionalist" (aka nutritionist) who uses mindless generalities based on cost, instead of actual facts - like the nutrition facts found on the labels on the packages of hot dogs. When I teach nutrition classes we focus on the actual nutrition of foods.

FYI: Boar's Head Lite Beef Frankfurters are higher in protein (which probably means less fillers), lower in sodium, carbs and fat than most hot dogs out there. Plus they are gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free.

But then, the original poster was asking us to recommend a "very good hot dog" without stipulation of cost, nutritional profile, or other factors. As we all know, taste is subjective.

-Grainlady