Favorite places to get the [definitive] New York hot dog

[jgould]

without using quotes from above, confused:

marathon, the "parent" co. has trademarked sabretts(?) & produces 'dogs' for:

papaya king, gray's papaya, nathan's, katz's, etc...

however, nathan's do seem to taste different, more garlicky, which seems tastier vs. a hebrew national dog, for example.

so is the answer, marathon makes what the client recipes' provide? or, is nathan's the same as a katz's, etc.....?

&

do all brands make a natural casing package & skinless?

[John]

jgould,

The Sabrett brand, owned and produced by Marathon, is the brand used at Papaya King, Gray's, Katz's, and other Papaya places such as Papaya Dog. Nathan's is a totally different product with a different recipe, made in the Midwest. For a few years, this dog was made by Marathon, but with the Nathan's recipe.

I spoke with people from Marathon as well as Sabrett distributors and others who would know, and they all told me that the Sabrett dogs that you get at the above named places are all from the exact same recipe. There are different sizes, but only one recipe for the all beef dog used by these places, and another recipe for a beef and pork dog used by some hot dog joints in Jersey. Dogs are made with casing or skinless.

I spoke at length with Ed Levine some months back for an article he wrote on N.Y. hot dogs. He went into the whole thing about the dogs being the same, except he mentioned in the article what someone from Papaya King told him regarding their dogs being made by Marathon (Sabrett) to the same recipe, but with the addition of an extra, secret spice. As I told Ed, this is NOT true. Papaya King's dogs are the basic Sabrett all beef dog, 10 to a lb with natural casing. And I've been told this by someone high up at Marathon.

[jgould]

jgould,

The Sabrett brand, owned and produced by Marathon, is the brand used at Papaya King, Gray's, Katz's, and other Papaya places such as Papaya Dog. Nathan's is a totally different product with a different recipe, made in the Midwest. For a few years, this dog was made by Marathon, but with the Nathan's recipe.

I spoke with people from Marathon as well as Sabrett distributors and others who would know, and they all told me that the Sabrett dogs that you get at the above named places are all from the exact same recipe. There are different sizes, but only one recipe for the all beef dog used by these places, and another recipe for a beef and pork dog used by some hot dog joints in Jersey. Dogs are made with casing or skinless.

I spoke at length with Ed Levine some months back for an article he wrote on N.Y. hot dogs. He went into the whole thing about the dogs being the same, except he mentioned in the article what someone from Papaya King told him regarding their dogs being made by Marathon (Sabrett) to the same recipe, but with the addition of an extra, secret spice. As I told Ed, this is NOT true. Papaya King's dogs are the basic Sabrett all beef dog, 10 to a lb with natural casing. And I've been told this by someone high up at Marathon.

←

THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE INFO!

[popover]

What about those foot long hot dogs they show from Las Vegas do they taste any good? Anyone try them? Or do they have a lot of Grizzle in them?

[slkinsey]

What brand is best to grill is a matter of opinion. I like Best's, Nathan's, Sabrett, Usinger's, and Boars Head. Empire National and Hebrew National are good too.

Usinger's! Takes me back to my college days in Wisconsin. Does anyone in NYC serve Usinger's?

[John]

F&B serves Usinger's. They are the beef and pork blend (I prefer their all beef dog) and are fried.

[70/30]

Growing up in Rochester N.Y. the hot dog brand of choice was Zweigle's. The natural casing red hots are nicely seasoned and have a great snap when you bite into them. Living in the south for the last 15 years I have had to either make a trip north or rely on friends to bring packs of Zweigles red hots with them when they visit. We can get Boar's head products here but I still prefer the dog's I grew up eating. As to the question of Gray's or PK being the better of the two, I generally prefer PK. That has more to do with the papaya drink than that hot dogs. I make a point to hit either Gray's of PK on every trip I make to the city. I haven't tried Mandlers yet but a high school friend of mine who works in Manhattan is a devotee.