Hot Dogs

[jeffreys1]

Nathans with the casing is #1

Hebrew National with casing is #2

Never had the Best with casing but would like to try

[Jason Perlow]

I've merged this thread with an earlier Hot Dog topic -- be sure to see the Hot Dog roundup in earlier posts.

[MarketStEl]

Thanks for the merger, and I did check the hot dog roundup.

Guess I'm going to have to order myself some Usinger's in the mail. Another item for my "once I get steady work or edit enough resumes to clear taxes" list.

Some comments after a full review:

--Dietz & Watson and Boar's Head seem to be going head-to-head in more places as they fight for the upper end of the deli meat market. D&W products are available in 45 of the 50 states and Puerto Rico, and I believe Boar's Head has a national presence now too. I'm surprised, Jason, that there were no Dietz & Watson hot dogs at your local supermarket. Then again, I can find Boar's Head deli products at a number of locations here in Dietz & Watson's home town, including Old Nelson Food Co. three blocks from me, but Boar's Head franks are harder to come by.

--I actually have had D&W's natural casing hot dogs--both regular and "New York Style". They are even better than their skinless Eagles Franks. But I don't know how they'd stack up against the best of the best on this thread.

--ShopRite's store brand, Black Bear, seems to get good marks from people who have tried it. Any further comments on Black Bear?

--confidential to mrbigjas: You do know that A.A. is no longer run by Haltemans, right? And that their lease is not being renewed?

--It looks like nitrate-free, uncured hot dogs don't do too well in the taste department, based on a combination of Jason's panel's evaluation and my own of the Fair Food Farmstand product.

[John]

Sandy,

Every product that you see labelled Black Bear is actually made by Dietz & Watson for Shop Rite under a private label agreement. The Black Bear franks are Dietz & Watson. This was confirmed to me by someone from D&W as well as a few people from Shop Rite. Look at the ingredients listing. Identical. I once compared the 2 before I knew that they were the same and remarked that I couldn't tell the difference. In the summer, Black Bear franks are usually on sale at the Shop Rite, so they will be cheaper than the Dietz and Watson.

Another interesting bit of information. I don't know if you have Pathmark in Philadelphia, but they sell 3 different franks under their own label. Two of them have Chefmark on the package as well as Pathmark. The natural casing Chefmark dogs are Dietz and Watson beef franks. The skinless dogs are Best's from Newark. Both are 6 to a lb. The smaller size (8 or 10 to a lb) which just have Pathmark on the label (and not Chefmark) are Sabrett's. Before I discovered this, I remember people remarking on another forum how good the Pathmark dogs are. Well, you're either getting Best, Sabrett, or Dietz and Watson. And usually at a better price. In the case of Dietz and Watson and Best, you're also getting their dogs in a size that is not available under their regular name.

[John]

Thanks to a woman from Chicago, I was finally able to sample hot dogs from the Romanian Kosher Sausage Co. She mailed me a package that I received Saturday.

I had some of these franks Sunday and today along with some others for the sake of comparison. Too many in fact. It will be awhile before I have hot dogs again. But I was happy to finally taste these dogs. And they are top of the line.

A little over a pound, there was 8 short fairly thick franks. I simmerred one in water along with a Hebrew National and an Abeles & Heyman. While I was comparing these, I threw another Romanian on the backyard grill.

Although one of the owners of Romanian told me that his franks are often compared to Abeles & Heymann, they taste nothing alike. A&H has a distinct spicy (herbal) flavor. I can see how some like this dog; it's distinctive, but the more I have it, the more I don't like the spicing. The Romanian kosher dog had a balanced subtle flavor. The salt and spices were there, but not overpowering. Nice and meaty, and fresh. Chicago dogs aren't as intense in flavor as New York/New Jersey beef dogs, but they are of the same high quality. The Hebrew National dog had more bite and the intense flavor. I liked both better than Abeles & Heymann. I'm not sure which of the 2 I liked better. My wife had all 3 and preferred the Romanian kosher frank.

I then had the dog that was grilled, and this was the best of the bunch. I think that grilling imparts more flavor. Even though this was a skinless frank, the outer layer of meat was slightly charred, giving it a bit of crunch. Excellent.

For dinner tonight I had a Romanian frank, a Best's (N.J.), and an Empire National. All approx. 8 to a lb. All skinless. I simmerred them in water, and then finished them off on the backyard grill.

Best's is my favorite beef frank. I like the spicing. But the Romanian was right up there with it. Both better than Empire National in my opinion. I'd have to say that Romanain Kosher franks are one of the best I've had. And one of my favorite beef franks along with Best's, Usinger's, Sabrett, and Hebrew National, which I am liking more and more. I also like Nathan's and Boar's Head

[MarketStEl]

Okay, time for a confession: I often eat hot dogs unheated, right out of the package. After all, they are fully cooked before they're packaged.

That said, I need to cook one before passing final judgement, but I did buy a package of Hebrew National dogs on my most recent grocery trip, and they are the beefiest-tasting franks I've yet encountered.

[Chris Amirault]

It's probably a great way to compare the taste of them, actually, Sandy. Even if it is somehow a tad bit... yucky.

[srhcb]

We used to have a local expression for somebody wolfing down their food that they "Ate (whatever) like Lyle Ginsel eats wieners!"

Lyle, a 400 pound plus logging contractor whose fingers were virtually the same size as wieners, (but not as clean), used to down a whole pack, uncooked, by sucking them up one after another like strands of spaghetti. He almost appeared to inhale them.

SB (rest his soul)(all of it!)

[MarketStEl]

Sandy,

          Every product that you see labelled Black Bear is actually made by Dietz & Watson for Shop Rite under a private label agreement. The Black Bear franks are Dietz & Watson. This was confirmed to me by someone from D&W as well as a few people from Shop Rite. Look at the ingredients listing. Identical. I once compared the 2 before I knew that they were the same and remarked that I couldn't tell the difference. In the summer, Black Bear franks are usually on sale at the Shop Rite, so they will be cheaper than the Dietz and Watson.

Another interesting bit of information. I don't know if you have Pathmark in Philadelphia, but they sell 3 different franks under their own label. Two of them have Chefmark on the package as well as Pathmark. The natural casing Chefmark dogs are Dietz and Watson beef franks. The skinless dogs are Best's from Newark. Both are 6 to a lb. The smaller size (8 or 10 to a lb) which just have Pathmark on the label (and not Chefmark) are Sabrett's. Before I discovered this, I remember people remarking on another forum how good the Pathmark dogs are. Well, you're either getting Best, Sabrett, or Dietz and Watson. And usually at a better price. In the case of Dietz and Watson and Best, you're also getting their dogs in a size that is not available under their regular name.

←

There are Pathmark supermarkets in the Philadelphia area, and maybe the next time I'm in the vicinity of Broad and Glenwood (North Philadelphia Amtrak station, which is now surrounded by a shopping center anchored by a Pathmark; as there is a Broad Street Subway stop adjacent, it's the easiest one for me to visit), I might pick up a package to see if I recognize them (and to try them on my roommate who (a) insists only on Dietz and Watson (b) seemed to have no problem with a couple of Hebrew Nationals I served him a couple of weeks ago).

This week, Nathan's skinless were on sale at the Super Fresh for about 60% of what they normally run around here ($5.49; sale price $3.19 for a one-pound package). Needless to say, I snapped up two packages (one regular, one Cheddar cheese).

Cold and heated reports coming soon.