We tested 13 brands of beef hot dogs – here are our favorites

Hot-dogs are a must for summer barbecues: there is a minimum of preparation, they are easy to cook and they are a guaranteed overview. Everything you need is buns, condiments, fillings and, of course, hot dogs. With so many hot dogs to choose at the grocery store, it is difficult to know which deserves to be purchased. Fortunately for you, we have done hard work.

To find the best Franks, we have tested 13 different brands of non-removed beef hot dogs that you will find likely to find in your local grocery store. We simmered the hot dogs in the water, cut them off, then eaten them in random order without knowing which brand of hot dog was which. After having tasted 13 different hot dogs, we tabule the results and crowned a global winner, we would be happy to grill at our own barbecules. We have also found some finalists who would be welcome on our grins.

The criteria

A very large hot dog must be tender, juicy and catchy. It must be fleshy, fatty and salty, but should not be excessively salty or fatty. Although a touch of sweetness is welcome, a hot dog should not be too sweet: there should only be enough sugar to balance other aromas. In the words of our editorial director, Daniel, the hot dogs should have “a balanced spice profile which does not lean too far in one direction”. It should not be too garlic or onion, and should spend time in an ideal place where all these flavors mix together. Hot dogs can be slightly smoked, but should not have a liquid smoke taste. They should not be bright pink either; Rather, they should have the shade of natural brownish meat. The skin should have a good bite, but it should not be hard or soft.

“Although the garnishes are one of the great joys of hot dogs, an excellent hot dog could be eaten in a bun,” explains our director of associated visuals, Amanda. (As for Daniel: “They should be perfectly associated with mustard above all.” And, yes, he launches a small shade on the crowd of the ketchup.)

General winner

Tête du Boarlier Francfurrs of not killed beef

“Good classic flavor,” wrote Daniel. “There is a snapshot here. This is the first where the texture of the case drew my attention. ” Like Daniel, everyone commented to how much they appreciated the texture of the hot dog. Our editor -in -chief of social media, Kelli, appreciated his “decent snap”, and Amanda liked that he was “salty but not super salty”. These hot dogs were tender and juicy, with just the right amount of bite.

Finalists

• Nathan’s famous skinless
• Kirkland signature beef hot dog
• Ranch Teton Ranch beef hot dog

Although none of the brands we have tasted was as good as our winner, all our tastings liked the hot dogs of each of these brands and would be happy to serve them in a backyard barbecue. While I found Nathan’s famous skinless A little too salty, other tasters appreciated the hot dogs and thought they were balanced. Daniel, in particular, liked the hot dogs to be “fatty and rich in the right direction”.

Amanda thought that the Kirkland signature beef hot dog were “hot dogs” appropriately, and Kelli and I liked how juicy they were. These hot dogs had a subtle suspicion of liquid smoke, which Daniel did not care, but he finally thought it was fine.

THE Ranch Teton Ranch beef hot dog I did not have the unleashing of the snapshots, but all the publishers agreed that they had a good flavor and had a taste of classic hot dogs, with a subtle smoke which did not seem unpleasant or artificial.

The contenders

• 365 organic hot dogs not nourished with grass
• Applegate Naturals The Grand Hot Dog of Biological Beef
• Ball park hot dogs not killed
• Best -sized beef wrapper
• Tête du Boarlier Francfurrs of not killed beef
• Fork on the road Honest Dogs
• Hebrew national beef franks
• Kirkland signature beef hot dog
• Nathan’s famous skinless
• Promise of organic nature hot dogs nourished with grass not.
• Oscar Mayer Classic Beef Franks Hot Dogs
• Sabrett Skinless Beef Francfurters Bun Size
• Ranch Teton Ranch beef hot dog

In conclusion

Beef is the main ingredient of all the hot dogs that we have tasted. They all contain water, salt and spices, with garlic, onion and paprika like the most common seasonings. Many have sweeteners (generally corn syrup, dextrose or sorbitol) and preservatives, stabilizers or acidulators who are added to maintain the texture, color and flavor of hot dogs, such as sodium diacetate, sodium ascorbate, sodium phosphate, erythorbate of sodium and Sodium lactate, among others. Sodium nitrite is a salt used to prepare cold meats and savory meats. According to Harold McGee On food and cookingSodium nitrite contributes to a “sharp and spicy flavor”, while extending the conservation time of meat and minimizing the risk of harmful bacteria as Clostridium botulinum growth.

Our winner, Boar’s Head, has only seven ingredients listed on the packaging: beef, water, salt, cultivated celery powder, natural flavor, paprika, sea salt and sheep housing. Of all the brands we have tried, she has the least ingredients. It is also the only brand that uses the animal box for its hot dogs, giving their sausages a higher snap. (Using animal intestines to encroach sausages is a characteristic of the manufacture of traditional sausages which leads more snapping sausages, which, as Daniel says to me, “is not an insignificant quality for a hot dog.”) Although the hot dogs of the wild boar head do not contain sodium nitrite, they are made with cultivated celery powder, Nitrates and nitrites in culture.

Overall, our publishers appreciated most of the hot dogs that we have tasted and had no clear preference for sausages made with or without nitritis and other additives. Two of our three finalists – the famous skinless beef fans of Nathan and the Kirkland signing beef hot dogs – are made with many additives and conservatives, and our tasters have always appreciated them. Our tasters generally preferred hot dogs who did not have a manifest smoke flavor. However, it can be difficult to identify the flavoring of artificial smoke simply by looking at the ingredients, because the marks can use the term umbrella “flavored” without specifying what type of aroma.

Our test methodology

All taste tests are carried out with completely hidden and discussion marks. Tasteers have a samples taste in a random order. For example, the taster can taste the sample a first, while the B tootter B has first taste the sample six. It is a question of preventing the fatigue of the palace from unjustly give a single sample an advantage. Tasters are invited to fill out our tasting sheets classifying the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulent and the results are calculated without editorial entry in order to give us the most impartial representation of the real results possible.