Nathan's Hot Dogs

[Tenacious E]

Glad some of you got around to natural casing dogs eventually. I love hot dogs, but I am very picky, and it has to be a natural casing hot dog.

My absolute favorite is Sahlen's, which finally became widely available in the last few years at Publix:

Before that, every year when I went back to Buffalo I would buy 20 pounds of them, freeze them, and fly home with them.

I'm also picky about how they're prepared...a hot dog should be chargrilled. A Sahlen's is the best chargrilled dog. I can't speak to how it holds up to steaming, boiling, microwaving, warming it in your armpit, dropping it in with you when you take a warm bath, or whatever other way you animals do it. If you grill your hot dogs the way God does, this is the best dog. The two on the left are almost ready.

The only acceptable alternative is on a griddle, if it's raining.

A Zweigle's white hot or red hot is almost as good, but still very limited Western New York distribution on those. These are now the ones I bring back with me from visits. I wouldn't fight someone who prefers Zweigle over Sahlens.

The distant third (but acceptable) hot dog, which also has distribution at Publix, is a Hoffman dog. It's not as good as the other two by a long, but it's still totally acceptable. Although their white hot isn't even in the same universe as a Zweigle's white hot.

Before Sahlen's and Hoffmans became available at Publix, I tried every other natural casing hot dog I could get my hands on since moving south.

Nathan's natural casing were...almost OK? OK enough to have once or twice a year out of desperation and then be depressed by how underwhelming they were.

I tried the Sabretts, and they just didn't scratch the itch. It was so long ago, I can't actually remember what was "wrong with them", just that I initially got excited upon finding them, and then was let down. It was the first natural casing dog I was able to find moving south, so it's possible that good hot dogs were too close in my mind, and it was judged unfairly.

Boar's Head natural casing dogs are absolute trash. Horrible.

Now this is how one HROTs.

 

[PoopandBoogers]

Glad some of you got around to natural casing dogs eventually. I love hot dogs, but I am very picky, and it has to be a natural casing hot dog.

My absolute favorite is Sahlen's, which finally became widely available in the last few years at Publix:

Before that, every year when I went back to Buffalo I would buy 20 pounds of them, freeze them, and fly home with them.

I'm also picky about how they're prepared...a hot dog should be chargrilled. A Sahlen's is the best chargrilled dog. I can't speak to how it holds up to steaming, boiling, microwaving, warming it in your armpit, dropping it in with you when you take a warm bath, or whatever other way you animals do it. If you grill your hot dogs the way God does, this is the best dog. The two on the left are almost ready.

The only acceptable alternative is on a griddle, if it's raining.

A Zweigle's white hot or red hot is almost as good, but still very limited Western New York distribution on those. These are now the ones I bring back with me from visits. I wouldn't fight someone who prefers Zweigle over Sahlens.

The distant third (but acceptable) hot dog, which also has distribution at Publix, is a Hoffman dog. It's not as good as the other two by a long, but it's still totally acceptable. Although their white hot isn't even in the same universe as a Zweigle's white hot.

Before Sahlen's and Hoffmans became available at Publix, I tried every other natural casing hot dog I could get my hands on since moving south.

Nathan's natural casing were...almost OK? OK enough to have once or twice a year out of desperation and then be depressed by how underwhelming they were.

I tried the Sabretts, and they just didn't scratch the itch. It was so long ago, I can't actually remember what was "wrong with them", just that I initially got excited upon finding them, and then was let down. It was the first natural casing dog I was able to find moving south, so it's possible that good hot dogs were too close in my mind, and it was judged unfairly.

Boar's Head natural casing dogs are absolute trash. Horrible.

Ive tried the Sahlen's at Publix a few times and found them better than the cheap brands, but kinda bland. To each his own I guess.

 

[Hawki97]

My way to eat a dog is just bun, dog, sweet relish, mustard. Simples. If you’re going to fancy it all up, my personal favorite is a Sonoran dog. The only thing I really miss about Tucson. That said, it’s Hebrew National, Costco, and Nathan’s if I’m shopping.

 

[cfbfan23]

This #1

or this #2

 

[Tenacious E]

My way to eat a dog is just bun, dog, sweet relish, mustard. Simples. If you’re going to fancy it all up, my personal favorite is a Sonoran dog. The only thing I really miss about Tucson. That said, it’s Hebrew National, Costco, and Nathan’s if I’m shopping.

What's the white shit drizzled in a zigzag fashion?

 

[Nole Lou]

This #1

or this #2

My man.

 

[Chewback]

Nobody in this thread has mentioned Wimmer's. Now there is a solid hot dog with some snap to it in a natural casing.

Finally. Best there is. No need to look further.

 

[Hawki97]

What's the white shit drizzled in a zigzag fashion?

Mayo…delicious fattening Mayo.

 

[artradley]

So I draged all the fixings together and heat the dogs in boiling water for two minutes as directed.

Nothing else in this thread matters after reading this.

 

[Chewback]

Mayo…delicious fattening Mayo.

Yuk.

 

[FSUTribe76]

This #1

or this #2

I’m not a big fan of the Hofmann Franks but I use their “Snappy Grillers” in place of weisswurst, bockwurst and rotwurst when I make currywurst at home. My wife is a huge fan of currywurst, but it’s tough to find authentic German sausages in Tally. The Snappy Grillers taste a lot like a weisswurst though so it’s a decent substitution.

 

[cfbfan23]

My man.

Lou,

You put me on to Sahlen's. I was only eating Hoffman's prior to that.

I like the pork hot dogs from Sahlen's better than the all-beef. It's always really nice when you go to Publix and they've got a BOGO on Sahlen's.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Make your own

View embedded media

WAAAY too much work for a f'n hot dog. But I'll gladly go to his house for one.

 

[GOHOX69]

I’m not a big fan of the Hofmann Franks but I use their “Snappy Grillers” in place of weisswurst, bockwurst and rotwurst when I make currywurst at home. My wife is a huge fan of currywurst, but it’s tough to find authentic German sausages in Tally. The Snappy Grillers taste a lot like a weisswurst though so it’s a decent substitution.

Currywurst sounds like a marriage between Hitler and Gandhi.

 

[GOHOX69]

WAAAY too much work for a f'n hot dog. But I'll gladly go to his house for one.

That dude is a whacknut.

 

[SeaPA]

If you're ever in Tampa, this is the place to go for a good dog; they also do a very good Chicago Beef sandwich:

https://www.melshotdogs.com/

It's right near the entrance to Busch Gardens; their 50th anniversary is coming up in about 18 months.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Currywurst sounds like a marriage between Hitler and Gandhi.

Have you ever tried it? It's freaking awsome.

 

[GOHOX69]

Have you ever tried it? It's freaking awsome.

Yes I've had it in Deutschland. I'm Indian so curry is my jamz.

 

[Nole Lou]

Is there any difference between that and Cincinnati chili? Because it sounds like Cincinatti chili (ie a thin meat sauce with cinnamon and other Greek seasonings masquerading as a chili).

So, I've never actually had Cincinnati chili. We actually had it on our list in early spring...had to drive to Buffalo, and my son and I mapped out a different route there and back with stops for every regional food we could do along the way. Cincinnati chili was planned for the way back, but our route got switched up thanks to a blizzard, and we couldn't go that way.

So I pulled up a recipe. They're clearly cousins. The difference would be that Texas Sauce would not have the tomato paste, so it would be brownish instead of reddish. No vinegar and no Worcestershire sauce either. But yeah, that spice profile is similar. In fact, I imagine that just removing those three ingredients would give you a pretty adequate Texas hot dog sauce.

I'd say Texas sauce would be a little thinner even, and it's never ever served as a stand alone chili. It goes on hot dogs, hamburgers, or sometimes fries, but nobody would ever mistake it for something you would eat a bowl of, any more than you would eat a bowl of gravy.

But it's close enough to give an idea.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Currywurst sounds like a marriage between Hitler and Gandhi.

It’s a Berlin creation. Right after WW2 there were lots of Limey soldiers with curry packets and American soldiers with ketchup packets around and not much for the locals to eat other than some cheap German sausage. Combine all three and you get a great tasty dish.

 

[GOHOX69]

So, I've never actually had Cincinnati chili. We actually had it on our list in early spring...had to drive to Buffalo, and my son and I mapped out a different route there and back with stops for every regional food we could do along the way. Cincinnati chili was planned for the way back, but our route got switched up thanks to a blizzard, and we couldn't go that way.

So I pulled up a recipe. They're clearly cousins. The difference would be that Texas Sauce would not have the tomato paste, so it would be brownish instead of reddish. No vinegar and no Worcestershire sauce either. But yeah, that spice profile is similar. In fact, I imagine that just removing those three ingredients would give you a pretty adequate Texas hot dog sauce.

I'd say Texas sauce would be a little thinner even, and it's never ever served as a stand alone chili. It goes on hot dogs, hamburgers, or sometimes fries, but nobody would ever mistake it for something you would eat a bowl of, any more than you would eat a bowl of gravy.

But it's close enough to give an idea.

Isn't Cincy chili, chili dumped onto spaghetti noodles?

 

[Moral]

Glad some of you got around to natural casing dogs eventually. I love hot dogs, but I am very picky, and it has to be a natural casing hot dog.

My absolute favorite is Sahlen's, which finally became widely available in the last few years at Publix:

Before that, every year when I went back to Buffalo I would buy 20 pounds of them, freeze them, and fly home with them.

I'm also picky about how they're prepared...a hot dog should be chargrilled. A Sahlen's is the best chargrilled dog. I can't speak to how it holds up to steaming, boiling, microwaving, warming it in your armpit, dropping it in with you when you take a warm bath, or whatever other way you animals do it. If you grill your hot dogs the way God does, this is the best dog. The two on the left are almost ready.

The only acceptable alternative is on a griddle, if it's raining.

A Zweigle's white hot or red hot is almost as good, but still very limited Western New York distribution on those. These are now the ones I bring back with me from visits. I wouldn't fight someone who prefers Zweigle over Sahlens.

The distant third (but acceptable) hot dog, which also has distribution at Publix, is a Hoffman dog. It's not as good as the other two by a long, but it's still totally acceptable. Although their white hot isn't even in the same universe as a Zweigle's white hot.

Before Sahlen's and Hoffmans became available at Publix, I tried every other natural casing hot dog I could get my hands on since moving south.

Nathan's natural casing were...almost OK? OK enough to have once or twice a year out of desperation and then be depressed by how underwhelming they were.

I tried the Sabretts, and they just didn't scratch the itch. It was so long ago, I can't actually remember what was "wrong with them", just that I initially got excited upon finding them, and then was let down. It was the first natural casing dog I was able to find moving south, so it's possible that good hot dogs were too close in my mind, and it was judged unfairly.

Boar's Head natural casing dogs are absolute trash. Horrible.

I go flat side up on my grill. Now Obama eondering if I shouldnt do one side with flat and one side with pointy.

 

[Tenacious E]

Have you ever tried it? It's freaking awsome.

It may be, I have never had it. With that said, I would find it odd if HROT ketchup bashers like it.

 

[GOHOX69]

It’s a Berlin creation. Right after WW2 there were lots of Limey soldiers with curry packets and American soldiers with ketchup packets around and not much for the locals to eat other than some cheap German sausage. Combine all three and you get a great tasty dish.

Currywurst is what I offer the ladies of Berlin Not to mention many Indians fought with the Germans in batallions called Frei India (Free India) since we were being colonized by the Brits. The India/Germany ties are even more bizzare and deeper. Hitler was big into the occult and had a woman (part Indian) named Savitri Devi provide him with his personal fortune telling. Then there's the corruption of the swastika, aryans, sanskrit words, himler and the gita. Hell currywurst thankfully is the best thing that came of it.

 

[Tenacious E]

Currywurst is what I offer the ladies of Berlin Not to mention many Indians fought with the Germans in batallions called Frei India (Free India) since we were being colonized by the Brits. The India/Germany ties are even more bizzare and deeper. Hitler was big into the occult and had a woman (part Indian) named Savitri Devi provide him with his personal fortune telling. Then there's the corruption of the swastika, aryans, sanskrit words, himler and the gita. Hell currywurst thankfully is the best thing that came of it.

That is interesting. I will have to read more about that...

 

[GOHOX69]

Not to derail the hotdogs, but the movie 7 years in Tibet was basically the Nazis heading to Tibet and India to find the source of aryanism. Bizzare but true.

Savitri Devi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Nole Lou]

Ive tried the Sahlen's at Publix a few times and found them better than the cheap brands, but kinda bland. To each his own I guess.

I'm not going to lie, I'm not a fan of 100% beef franks. To me they taste weird and kind of gross. I like the smoother taste of a pork/beef/random spare parts natural casing hot dog when I want a hot dog.

But since 100% beef is the new normal in hot dogs, so if you're used to that, I can see classic hot dogs seeming bland, but they're not to me. They get burned and slathered with mustard and onions, so there's definitely no issue with lack of flavor.

Maybe I'm the only one, but even among Sahlens, I want nothing to do with 100% beef hot dogs if I can avoid it. That's probably why I didn't care for Sabrettes.

 

[FSUTribe76]

So, I've never actually had Cincinnati chili. We actually had it on our list in early spring...had to drive to Buffalo, and my son and I mapped out a different route there and back with stops for every regional food we could do along the way. Cincinnati chili was planned for the way back, but our route got switched up thanks to a blizzard, and we couldn't go that way.

So I pulled up a recipe. They're clearly cousins. The difference would be that Texas Sauce would not have the tomato paste, so it would be brownish instead of reddish. No vinegar and no Worcestershire sauce either. But yeah, that spice profile is similar. In fact, I imagine that just removing those three ingredients would give you a pretty adequate Texas hot dog sauce.

I'd say Texas sauce would be a little thinner even, and it's never ever served as a stand alone chili. It goes on hot dogs, hamburgers, or sometimes fries, but nobody would ever mistake it for something you would eat a bowl of, any more than you would eat a bowl of gravy.

But it's close enough to give an idea.

There’s a couple Skyline chili locations in Florida (Clearwater, Ft Myers, Naples, Bradenton and Sunrise) they’re the originator of Cincinatti Chili.

I pulled up their menu and technically they do just have a bowl of Cincinatti Chili to eat but I’ve never seen or heard of anyone just doing that as it’s very thin. The traditional ways to eat it are: 1) on a chili cheese dog with way too much cheese;

2) in a “Five Way” which is spaghetti with the Cincinatti Chili, too much cheese, diced onion and beans;

3) or the “chili” and cheese wrapped up in a burrito and called a chilito

 

[FSUTribe76]

Isn't Cincy chili, chili dumped onto spaghetti noodles?

No that’s a Five Way. Cincinatti chili by itself is a thin meat sauce with Greek spices (not Mexican like most chilis).

 

[SoDakHawk]

I'm not going to lie, I'm not a fan of 100% beef franks. To me they taste weird and kind of gross. I like the smoother taste of a pork/beef/random spare parts natural casing hot dog when I want a hot dog.

But since 100% beef is the new normal in hot dogs, so if you're used to that, I can see classic hot dogs seeming bland, but they're not to me. They get burned and slathered with mustard and onions, so there's definitely no issue with lack of flavor.

Maybe I'm the only one, but even among Sahlens, I want nothing to do with 100% beef hot dogs if I can avoid it. That's probably why I didn't care for Sabrettes.

The reason I eat beef hot dogs is because I am not interested in eating chicken parts. Non-beef hot dogs at the grocery store are labeled as "made with chicken, pork added". That doe snot inspire me that there is much pork in those hot dogs.

If I could find a hot dog that was a pork hot dog or a pork/beef hot dog mix I would love to try it. Absent that, I'll stick to beef hot dogs instead of eating chicken dogs.

 

[bhawk24bob]

A good alternative to a dog is a boar’s head knockwurst, basically a jumbo all beef dog in natural casing with the flavor on steroids. They need to be grilled until they split

 

[Nole Lou]

The reason I eat beef hot dogs is because I am not interested in eating chicken parts. Non-beef hot dogs at the grocery store are labeled as "made with chicken, pork added". That doe snot inspire me that there is much pork in those hot dogs.

If I could find a hot dog that was a pork hot dog or a pork/beef hot dog mix I would love to try it. Absent that, I'll stick to beef hot dogs instead of eating chicken dogs.

Makes sense. I don't think I would eat those either.

The hot dogs I like are pork/beef or pork/beef/veal, pork being the main ingredient I think. Now, those are pretty wide descriptors, so I'm not sure what part of the pig you might have in there, but no chicken.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Makes sense. I don't think I would eat those either.

The hot dogs I like are pork/beef or pork/beef/veal, pork being the main ingredient I think. Now, those are pretty wide descriptors, so I'm not sure what part of the pig you might have in there, but no chicken.

And where do you find dogs like that? I'm guessing they are some sort of specialty butcher shop blend. If you're just talking major national brand, grocery store hot dogs your choices are going to be all-beef or chicken/pork, or an Oscar Mayer Weiner which is Turkey/Chicken/Pork.

 

[cfbfan23]

And where do you find dogs like that? I'm guessing they are some sort of specialty butcher shop blend. If you're just talking major national brand, grocery store hot dogs your choices are going to be all-beef or chicken/pork, or an Oscar Mayer Weiner which is Turkey/Chicken/Pork.

We have them at Publix here in Georgia. Both Sahlen's and Hoffman's have no chicken.

 

[Nole Lou]

And where do you find dogs like that? I'm guessing they are some sort of specialty butcher shop blend. If you're just talking major national brand, grocery store hot dogs your choices are going to be all-beef or chicken/pork, or an Oscar Mayer Weiner which is Turkey/Chicken/Pork.

You might can't if you aren't in the footprint for Publix or Wegmans unfortunately. Unless there's some regional brand.

That was my life for the first 20 years or so that I moved south.

When Publix started carrying Hoffmans, it improved my life significantly, and I went from having hot dogs once or twice a year to regularly.

Then a couple years later when I walked in and out of nowhere saw Sahlens on the shelf, I dropped to my knees and my eyes teared up. I wish I was joking, but I'm getting emotional thinking about again right now.

 

[jasonrann]

What's the white shit drizzled in a zigzag fashion?

You don't want to know.

 

[seminole97]

This is not tongue in cheek but I actually like hotdogs microwaved. With that said, the best dogs are grilled. If I'm not grilling them though, they go in the wave.

My wife did that, looked like the goddamn Toxic Avenger on a bun.

 

[seminole97]

Do any of you animals know where a civilian can purchase the same Aramark Andouille sausages that they sell at Dick Howser Stadium? TIA.

 

[noleclone2]

“Then I notice they are the long skinny type of dog, which I don't like.”

 

[Nole Lou]

We have them at Publix here in Georgia. Both Sahlen's and Hoffman's have no chicken.

Where are you from that you got that taste in hot dogs? Or did you just discover them by accident?