Supermarket Hot Dogs

[John]

Rail Paul, Ive never had a Yocco's dog, but the brand they use is Medford's.

Steven, Boar's Head is a decent all beef dog; especially in Florida and other parts of the country that do not have good dogs. It is a little less flavorfull than Sabrett or even Best; but is spicy enough for a beef dog. I find the casing a little to tough.

The King's Supermarket near me replaced Boar's Head with Thumann's. I am familiar with the pork based dog (at least 80% pork) but they now stock an all beef natural casing dog, 8 to a lb. The only other time I saw Thumann's all beef, it was a little 10 to a lb dog that was skinless. The natural casing 8 to a lb was very good. Again not as spicy as Sabrett, Grote & Weigel, or Black Bear; but very tasty with a slight tanginess reminiscent of the Hummel brand from Conn.

[Fat Guy]

I recently bought two packages of Black Bear Natural Casing 8-to-a-pound frankfurters and felt they were a major step down in quality from what I had experienced in the past. I ate my way through a few of them and then noticed, while glancing at the package, that they listed beef and pork as ingredients. I could have sworn in the past these were all beef. Are there two versions out there? What's going on?

[Double 0]

I recently bought two packages of Black Bear Natural Casing 8-to-a-pound frankfurters and felt they were a major step down in quality from what I had experienced in the past. I ate my way through a few of them and then noticed, while glancing at the package, that they listed beef and pork as ingredients. I could have sworn in the past these were all beef. Are there two versions out there? What's going on?

Yes, the franks are beef and pork. The all beef are... all beef . When I think of franks it reminds me of the .99/lb house brand, mystery meat.

btw about.com has a good page on Hot dogs.

Edited February 11, 2003 by Double 0 (log)

[Squarehead]

When I lived in NJ I became a big fan of the Schickhaus Griddle Franks. I was introduced to them at Max's in Long Branch, NJ. Then it was on the boardwalk. Sad to say that it no longer is. I live in CA and the only way I can get these franks is during trips back east. Can you tell me how I can order the Schickhaus Griddle Franks and the Black Bear Franks and have them shipped to me?

[John]

Black Bear Franks are made by Dietz and Watson of Philadelphia. They are the same as Dietz and Watson New York Style all beef franks. Try their website. I don't know if they do mail order.

Schickhaus franks are made for them by Grote & Weigel of Bloomfield, Ct. Try their website (groteandweigel.com) You may be able to order these franks directly. They sell their own (minimum 5 lbs) but may not offer schickhaus as they are made under contract. Worth a try, though. Let us know how you make out.

[tryska]

not exactly a hot dog, but tastes great on a bun.....New West Buffalo Hot Polishs. yum.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On 9/11/2002 at 2:10 AM, Fat Guy said:

Okay, so I finally made it to ShopRite in Yonkers today and picked up some of these Black Bear franks that John has been raving about. I assume nobody will be surprised to learn that John is right: Subject to revising my opinion based on side-by-side blind comparison I can say that these are the best natural casing beef franks I think I've ever had. A wonderful product. I have nothing to add to John's description. Bravo, ShopRite.

John, I noticed a couple of variants of the Black Bear (full name Black Bear of the Black Forest) franks. I bought the eight-to-a-pound but there were also some big-ass ones on offer. Do you have a preference? Also, for anybody who goes looking for these, they're near the deli case not with the other dogs.

 

I finished a package of Nathan's Angus yesterday, and tonight I opened a package of Black Bear.  I liked Nathan's Angus well enough:  good flavor but to my taste a little bit too salty.  The Black Bear had better texture, a nice snap, and were not as salty.  If I had to choose it would be Black Bear.  If it weren't for this thread I never would have tried them.

 

[weinoo]

Are you able to source the Nathan’s with natural casing? I like those, and Brooklyn Hot Dogs as well.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

Are you able to source the Nathan’s with natural casing? I like those, and Brooklyn Hot Dogs as well.

 

I would try Nathan's natural casing if I could find them.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Is there a way to prevent natural casing hot dogs from splitting?

 

[Duvel]

You can prick them with a knife to allow the overheated juices/fats to escape. Other than that, heating up slowly helps. If you intend to get a decent browning on the casing it will practically be impossible to keep the casing from splitting. 

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Is there a way to prevent natural casing hot dogs from splitting?

 

 

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

You can prick them with a knife to allow the overheated juices/fats to escape. Other than that, heating up slowly helps. If you intend to get a decent browning on the casing it will practically be impossible to keep the casing from splitting. 

 

And I'll often do the following (which is actually on the Brooklyn Hot Dog web site): start them in a sauté pan with some water, and let them heat up in the water. When the water is all gone, they'll get rolled around and brown for a few minutes - no splitting!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

And I'll often do the following (which is actually on the Brooklyn Hot Dog web site): start them in a sauté pan with some water, and let them heat up in the water. When the water is all gone, they'll get rolled around and brown for a few minutes - no splitting!

 

Thanks, though being lazy I think I will continue to heat my hotdogs in the APO.  Somewhere I saw a suggestion to make a slit in the casing to prevent splitting.  If I remember I will try that next time.  And as far as I can tell the split is purely cosmetic.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

And I'll often do the following (which is actually on the Brooklyn Hot Dog web site): start them in a sauté pan with some water, and let them heat up in the water. When the water is all gone, they'll get rolled around and brown for a few minutes - no splitting!

That’s the way my mom cooked dogs unless there was a grill going and I do the same. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

And I'll often do the following (which is actually on the Brooklyn Hot Dog web site): start them in a sauté pan with some water, and let them heat up in the water. When the water is all gone, they'll get rolled around and brown for a few minutes - no splitting!

Exactly.    Thought I invented that method.    😆    How else would one want one?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

That’s the way my mom cooked dogs unless there was a grill going and I do the same. 

 

In a pan with a little water is the way I cook breakfast sausages.  I've always cooked breakfast sausages that way.  I thought the difference was that hotdogs are pre-cooked while breakfast sausages are not.

 

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Rereading previous comments, it occurs to me that time is a factor in preventing splitting.    Low and slow, and they heat evenly and don't split.

[blue_dolphin]

33 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

In a pan with a little water is the way I cook breakfast sausages.  I've always cooked breakfast sausages that way.  I thought the difference was that hotdogs are pre-cooked while breakfast sausages are not.

 

 

My mom was an old school microbiologist and I don’t think she trusted that pre-cooked business so she treated hot dogs the same as breakfast sausages. Obviously no need to do it that way if something else works better for you. 

[DesertTinker]

6 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

My mom was an old school microbiologist and I don’t think she trusted that pre-cooked business so she treated hot dogs the same as breakfast sausages. Obviously no need to do it that way if something else works better for you. 

My mom wasn’t a microbiologist or anywhere close to being one, but hot dogs were not to be eaten unless they were cooked, “pre-cooked” wasn’t relevant.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

19 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

My mom was an old school microbiologist and I don’t think she trusted that pre-cooked business so she treated hot dogs the same as breakfast sausages. Obviously no need to do it that way if something else works better for you. 

 

Well I reheat my hotdogs 15 minutes at 200C.  I didn't go to grad school for nothing.

 

[MetsFan5]

13 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

 

And I'll often do the following (which is actually on the Brooklyn Hot Dog web site): start them in a sauté pan with some water, and let them heat up in the water. When the water is all gone, they'll get rolled around and brown for a few minutes - no splitting!

 

 I also cook hotdogs this way. I love the results. Worth the time. My college roommate’s grandmother taught me that trick. 

[Kim Shook]

I love a natural casing dog, but we usually have Kirkland or Nathan's in the freezer.  On a non-casing dog I do a spiral cut and cook in butter until almost, but not quite, burnt.  Maybe I'm unconsciously trying to recreate a casing?  

[heidih]

Ok the "not supermarket" dog"  My personal preference is the veal based wieners from German market just brought to temp. If they split ok pull em out, Super hot mustard is all they need.  

Edited July 1, 2022 by Smithy
Rotated photo as poster's request (log)

[liuzhou]

The only thing I learned in grad school was never to eat hot dogs!