Sahlen's hot dogs

[John]

I finally got a chance to sample some of these dogs yesterday. They're not available in my area, so I haven't had them previously. Someone I have been corresponding with online happens to live close to me and was kind enough to invite me over to sample a few Sahlen's. He also gave me some to take home along with some of the famous Buffalo wings and the Longenberry juice popular in the area.

I always look forward to trying new dogs; especially those that I've heard so much about. And I never know if I will like them or not. But it's great fun for me to sample something that I've heard or read about. And finally to have an opinion of.

The dogs I sampled were Sahlen's Smoke House Hot Dogs. They are available in supermarkets near Buffalo. The same recipe as those served at Ted's. The only difference in these and the actual dogs used at Ted's is the casing. The smokehouse dogs have a collagen, rather than a sheep casing. And at Ted's, you can get the dogs in a bigger sizes. Footlong and Jumbo.

I had these dogs with Weber's Hot Texan Sauce, which is a blend of mustard, relish, and spices, and also Weber's Picalilly Relish, which is a spicy, tomato based relish. Both were very good, especially the Hot Texan sauce, which I've learned is a popular topping at Ted's. I would use this sauce if it was available near me. I might order some, as it is available online.

The dogs were prepared on a charcoal grill. They were very pale in color, which usually means that a very mild tasting, bordering on bland, taste experience is to follow. Not so here. The dogs were very good. A good balance of beef and pork with a distinctive spicing. Slightly peppery, and somewhat reminiscent of Hofmann's coneys or snappy grillers. That's what the Sahlens frank reminded me of, although it wasn't over the top with the pepper or other spices. I had a bite of the dog plain before putting on the condiments. Later I had another plain, but will have to sample again with just mustard.

These dogs are great on the grill. We also had a Thumanns that we grilled for the sake of comparison. Thumann's have a softer lambs casing and are packed looser since they don't employ a technique called vacuum chopping which sucks the air out of the meat mixture. This results in a product that cooks up faster. I actually prefer Thumann's on the griddle rather than on the backyard grill. I will compare these 2 again on the griddle. Both are great dogs. The Sahlen's actually cooked up better on the charcoal grill. It was drier, crunchier, and more peppery in flavor. An excellent example of a beef and pork dog. And I like the collagen casing. I think they use this for the supermarket dogs because there is more uniformity when it comes to size. The Thumann's dog had it's usual great taste (the pork comes right from their hams) but, as I said, didn't cook up as well as the Sahlen's. And it tasted very salty. I usually simmer in water before putting them on the griddle; perhaps this takes away some of the salt. Or maybe the dog is just salty compared to Sahlen's.

I'm looking forward to having the remaining Sahlen's dogs, both on the grill and the griddle to evaluate them further after having them for the first time yesterday. But I will say that they are a great dog; as good as there is, and even better than I anticipated, especially after seeing the pale color. Great on the grill, and they are complemented well by the Weber's Hot Texan Sauce and Picalilly Relish.

Later on I went to Wegmans to request that they carry this brand. They will attempt to. I found out that the Princeton location usually stocks Sahlen's. I didn't know this. Currently, they are out of stock, but they will call when they get more.

[coquus]

Dude, I like hot dogs as much as the next guy, but this is ridiculous. Nah, Sahlen's are good dogs, much like real frankfurthers than anything else I have had in the states, which, I'll admit, isn't very much as per many disappointments. They would be better with a natural casing however. Oh, and it's Loganberry juice, I think, what you said sounds more like a real berry, but I have always said Logan and never Longen.

I finally got a chance to sample some of these dogs yesterday. They're not available in my area, so I haven't had them previously. Someone I have been corresponding with online happens to live close to me and was kind enough to invite me over to sample a few Sahlen's. He also gave me some to take home along with some of the famous Buffalo wings and the Longenberry juice popular in the area.

I always look forward to trying new dogs; especially those that I've heard so much about. And I never know if I will like them or not. But it's great fun for me to sample something that I've heard or read about. And finally to have an opinion of.

The dogs I sampled were Sahlen's Smoke House Hot Dogs. They are available in supermarkets near Buffalo. The same recipe as those served at Ted's. The only difference in these and the actual dogs used at Ted's is the casing. The smokehouse dogs have a collagen, rather than a sheep casing. And at Ted's, you can get the dogs in a bigger sizes. Footlong and Jumbo.

I had these dogs with Weber's Hot Texan Sauce, which is a blend of mustard, relish, and spices, and also Weber's Picalilly Relish, which is a spicy, tomato based relish. Both were very good, especially the Hot Texan sauce, which I've learned is a popular topping at Ted's. I would use this sauce if it was available near me. I might order some, as it is available online.

The dogs were prepared on a charcoal grill. They were very pale in color, which usually means that a very mild tasting, bordering on bland, taste experience is to follow. Not so here. The dogs were very good. A good balance of beef and pork with a distinctive spicing. Slightly peppery, and somewhat reminiscent of Hofmann's coneys or snappy grillers. That's what the Sahlens frank reminded me of, although it wasn't over the top with the pepper or other spices. I had a bite of the dog plain before putting on the condiments. Later I had another plain, but will have to sample again with just mustard.

These dogs are great on the grill. We also had a Thumanns that we grilled for the sake of comparison. Thumann's have a softer lambs casing and are packed looser since they don't employ a technique called vacuum chopping which sucks the air out of the meat mixture. This results in a product that cooks up faster. I actually prefer Thumann's on the griddle rather than on the backyard grill. I will compare these 2 again on the griddle. Both are great dogs. The Sahlen's actually cooked up better on the charcoal grill. It was drier, crunchier, and more peppery in flavor. An excellent example of a beef and pork dog. And I like the collagen casing. I think they use this for the supermarket dogs because there is more uniformity when it comes to size. The Thumann's dog had it's usual great taste (the pork comes right from their hams) but, as I said, didn't cook up as well as the Sahlen's. And it tasted very salty. I usually simmer in water before putting them on the griddle; perhaps this takes away some of the salt. Or maybe the dog is just salty compared to Sahlen's.

I'm looking forward to having the remaining Sahlen's dogs, both on the grill and the griddle to evaluate them further after having them for the first time yesterday. But I will say that they are a great dog; as good as there is, and even better than I anticipated, especially after seeing the pale color. Great on the grill, and they are complemented well by the Weber's Hot Texan Sauce and Picalilly Relish.

Later on I went to Wegmans to request that they carry this brand. They will attempt to. I found out that the Princeton location usually stocks Sahlen's. I didn't know this. Currently, they are out of stock, but they will call when they get more.

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[bigbear]

Dude, I like hot dogs as much as the next guy, but this is ridiculous.  .....

Ridiculous? Shirley, you jest.

[John]

And don't call me Shirley!

It is loganberry juice; my mistake. Sahlen's dogs do come with a natural sheep casing. The Smokehouse dogs sold in the supermarket have a collagen casing, which are just as good in my opinion. Where have you had hot dogs "outside of the states"? The best in this country compares with anywhere else. Germany, the Czech Republic, and some places in Canada have fine dogs. I'm not so sure about the rest of the world.

[coquus]

And don't call me Shirley!

It is loganberry juice; my mistake. Sahlen's dogs do come with a natural sheep casing. The Smokehouse dogs sold in the supermarket have a collagen casing, which are just as good in my opinion. Where have you had hot dogs "outside of the states"? The best in this country compares with anywhere else. Germany, the Czech Republic, and some places in Canada have fine dogs. I'm not so sure about the rest of the world.

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In Austria, they have some kick ass dogs, and you get two linked together with one order with a really good white bread called semmel for like two or three bucks. I must admit I had the cheese sausage more often than not however, so I can't remember if they served the franks with or without the freshly grated horseradish as well as the german mustard.

[John]

Austria. Vienna, which in the German is wiener. Forgot about them.

[coquus]

Actually Wein, or Wien I'm not sure, Weiner would be a person from Vienna, I think. The sausages in Vienna paled in comparison to Graz where I stayed for a few weeks.

[phaelon56]

Slightly peppery, and somewhat reminiscent of Hofmann's coneys or snappy grillers.

Do you like them better than Hoffman's coneys?

[John]

It's hard to say, as they are different. The Sahlen's are a beef and pork dog with a somewhat peppery spicing. The Coneys or snappy grillers are pork and veal (sort of like a brat) with a little more pepper. First time I had a Hofmann's coney, I didn't like it. I think I was looking for a standard hot dog and didn't expect the flavor and spicing that I experienced. This last time I had a coney, I enjoyed it. I would say I like Sahlen's better than the regular Hofmann's German style dog, but as to whether I prefer the coney to Sahlen's, it would depend on the mood I'm in. If I was in the mood for a bratwurst type sausage, I'd go for the coney. If I was in the mood for a German style dog, I'd go for the Sahlen's. Most of the time, I usually go with the hot dog.