Chefs Cara Nicoletti, Pat LaFrieda, and Matt Abdoo are used to thinking outside the box when it comes to cooking; however, today on Epicurious, we’ve asked them to give us their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent hot dogs found on supermarket shelves. Which hot dogs pack the most bang for your budget, and which should you avoid at all costs?
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00:00We've gathered three hot dog experts to blind taste test every hot dog brand we could get our hands on to see which ones meet their standards.
00:12Nathan's famous natural casing beef frankfurters.
00:15I like that it takes up the whole bun and then some. I hate when a hot dog is like too short for the bun.
00:20This looks like natural casing, something that makes the difference to me in a hot dog experience.
00:26When those juices and steam relax, it's stretched out that casing and it kind of gives it that sort of wrinkly appearance.
00:32So what I'm looking for in a hot dog primarily is that really nice snap when you bite into it.
00:38So what's primarily going to give the hot dog that really nice snap is using a natural casing.
00:43An artificial casing just doesn't do it or caseless just doesn't do it for me.
00:48I'm looking for a texture that's plump and bouncy within that meat.
00:51And what's going to give the hot dog that bounce is a really solid emulsification.
00:55You really want a hot dog to be consistent and as you bite through it, you want a homogenous look to it.
01:01When you bite into a hot dog, it should be super juicy and that's going to be a result of all the fat in the water being emulsified into that meat mixture that's being stuffed into that casing.
01:09By no means should a hot dog be dry.
01:12I'm looking for a hot dog that has a balance of flavors.
01:14The spices are very important.
01:16So when hot dogs are made in a more inexpensive manner, the first thing that is subtracted to make something less expensive are the spices.
01:24The balance is just right.
01:26You don't want the seasonings to overpower the meat and you don't want it to be under seasoned.
01:29So that perfect balance is what's going to make for that incredible flavor of the hot dog.
01:33It's very juicy.
01:35As we can see, this has the bouncy consistency that a hot dog should have.
01:39It's a really good hot dog.
01:40There was no shortcut in spices here.
01:43I can taste that garlic.
01:45I can taste that smoke.
01:46This is exactly what I'm looking for in a hot dog.
01:48I get that initial snap of that casing, which is really telling me that it's a natural casing hot dog.
01:53A natural casing is a sheep intestine, generally.
01:56When hot dogs are made in natural casing, they're hung.
02:00That's where the smoke is added on.
02:02And it needs to be the right amount of time with the right amount of humidity in that room so that I get the snap and not something that's chewy or brittle.
02:09Is it Nathan's?
02:11Boom!
02:12Bingo!
02:13Look at that.
02:13The classic Nathan's hot dog, Coney Island, was one of the first places in the United States to actually feature a hot dog.
02:20It was brought in by German immigrants.
02:22The gentleman, Feldman was his last name, started selling hot dogs for 10 cents a hot dog back in like 1860.
02:28One of the employees, this guy named Nathan, started his own hot dog company and became super famous and one of the most recognizable hot dogs on the market that we all know and love today.
02:37No fillers were byproducts.
02:38So no fillers is no bulking agents like soy protein or corn flour.
02:45And no byproducts is no like offal or mechanically separated meat.
02:48You might know of it as pink slime.
02:50It doesn't really sound appealing.
02:52It's actually a safe product, but very pasty.
02:55But it does help make a hot dog less expensive.
02:58Knowing that you're having a hot dog made with something from a whole mussel meat is a really high indication of a great quality hot dog.
03:06So Brett, natural casing beef frankfurters.
03:09I mean, this one is a lot plumper.
03:11It's glistening.
03:12They're going high hitters right out of the gates.
03:14It looks like another natural casing.
03:16Color and texture looks very similar to the past hot dog that we just had.
03:19Color is important to me with a hot dog.
03:21When you get that nice reddish brown, it's really the smoke and the seasonings that come out.
03:28I also find that when the color is lighter, it's not just beef.
03:33Another really great snap on that hot dog.
03:35This hot dog is a little bit saltier than the last one.
03:37A little bit more smoked than spice.
03:39It has a good snap and it's very juicy and bouncy and plump.
03:43You can see the emulsion in there.
03:44It's just like perfectly smooth meat.
03:46A hot dog sort of differs from a sausage in that it goes a step further in its emulsification.
03:51The process of making a hot dog is to first take meats and to run them through a bowl chopper.
03:56What a bowl chopper does is it's essentially a huge commercial-sized bowl
04:00and it has these blades that just spin around and it's taking meat down to very small particles.
04:08There's a lot of friction and that can cause heat.
04:11And emulsification is going to break down at a certain temperature.
04:14One of the most important things is keeping that meat super cold.
04:17If the emulsification is broken, it would feel kind of mushy in your mouth.
04:22Ice water and ice are used to add in to keep the temperature down.
04:27Hot dogs are pre-cooked because if they weren't,
04:29it'd be really hard to hold that emulsion in the post-cooking process.
04:32It is possible that this is sabret.
04:35Is it sabret or sabret?
04:38There we go, two for two.
04:39And it does have a really beefy flavor, which is nice.
04:43I think it was just a little too salty for me.
04:47Oscar Mayer, bun-length beef, Franks.
04:50The presentation is awesome.
04:51It kind of scares me a little bit.
04:53My first impression is I think it maybe doesn't have a casing on it.
04:56When it leaves these little wrinkles and there's no tail on it,
05:00generally that means it was stuffed into some kind of cellulose casing that's then peeled off.
05:04When I break it open, I can see right away that it's a fine consistency.
05:09It's juicy.
05:09There's no snap.
05:13We have deviated in some capacity.
05:15Kind of across the board, all skinless hot dogs are going to lack a snap because there's no casing on them.
05:20Its texture is almost falling apart as I bite it.
05:23It's not really bouncy.
05:24It's not holding together.
05:26Leaving that sort of texture of it being kind of spongy and not a great way is usually when there's additives put into the hot dog.
05:31I'm not loving it.
05:32It has a very, very strong kind of artificial smoke flavor hit me like right out of the gate.
05:38Is it Oscar Mayer?
05:40Oscar Mayer.
05:41This makes sense to me.
05:42As I'm going through this ingredient list, sodium phosphate is something that's very often commonly found in commercial produced hot dogs.
05:48It's a moisture retaining ingredient.
05:51It's going to keep those hot dogs really plump and really juicy.
05:54It's also going to help with the emulsion factor to it.
05:57Sodium nitrite is going to be used as a curing agent and it's going to help also preserve the color.
06:04And nitrites, they can produce a compound called nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic.
06:12And you can see in the order of prominence, it's listed last because it's the smallest ingredient.
06:17It is a really, really tiny amount that you're using.
06:20Not eaten in such great density, it's harmless.
06:23The reason why it's louder than hot dogs is because it kills botulism.
06:27I would say it's safer than botulism.
06:29Yeah, for sure.
06:32Applegate, natural uncured beef hot dogs.
06:35Looking to be a skinless hot dog.
06:37This one has like a really gorgeous burnished tan.
06:41I could smell the smoke and go through it without even biting into it.
06:45When I open it, not much snap.
06:48I'm getting a lot of nutmeg.
06:50Nutmeg's kind of coming down through it pretty predominantly.
06:53It's definitely very bouncy.
06:54It's like extremely firm.
06:56It is juicy.
06:57What's keeping the juice in there really is the emulsification.
07:00When the myosin in the muscle is broken down and the presence of salt, it creates this like web that's catching all of the fat and water.
07:09When you bite into it, you're biting into those little cells that are holding all of the water and the fat.
07:14It's actually very grainy, but this is more of a smoked sausage to me than a hot dog.
07:21Is it Applegate?
07:22Applegate.
07:23What's amazing about these is that they are using 100% pastured and grass-fed beef, and you can actually really taste that because it has a much stronger beef flavor.
07:32So all beef is grass-fed for about 70% of its life.
07:36The last 30% finished off on grain, in this case, finished off on grass.
07:41So grass-fed beef takes about three or four times longer to grow to the same size as something grain-finished.
07:48It has a larger carbon footprint, and this is going to be uncured.
07:52Just because something's marketed as uncured does not mean that it isn't cured.
07:57They're using celery powder and cherry powder, which are two very acceptable nitrites.
08:02They still act the same way within your body.
08:05I've had to talk to the USDA a lot about celery powder.
08:08It's like a really hot topic in the cured meat community.
08:12As far as a skinless hot dog goes, this is something I'd probably give to my kids.
08:18Bar S, classic Franks.
08:20The point is that the hot dog gets lost in that bun.
08:23And see that the hot dog is probably a full inch smaller than this traditional hot dog bun.
08:28On some hot dog packaging, believe it or not, it's a marketing tool to say same size as the bun.
08:33Wow, it's really soft. It's like bending and pliable.
08:37Right out of the gate, just looking at this, is to me, is a lower quality hot dog.
08:41I don't like that.
08:43You see juice? I'm not seeing any juice.
08:45As you can see, it seems dry, pale.
08:47There's not much flavor coming from it at all.
08:50Beef fat has a higher melting point, and it also is just like firmer at room temperature.
08:54Whereas chicken fat and pork fat kind of tend to smear, which can make a softer texture.
09:01And also an indication of a lesser quality hot dog.
09:04It kind of feels to me like there's a bunch of things added to this that aren't meat.
09:07They could have put something in it, like cornstarch, that's supposed to stabilize that emulsion,
09:12but sometimes can add like a pasty, gritty texture.
09:16All indications so far are that this is a very inexpensive hot dog to me.
09:21Made with chicken pork!
09:22I've never heard of Bar-S.
09:24This is made with chicken pork added to the beef.
09:27That is something that would drive the cost down, especially at a time when beef is at an all-time high.
09:32Guess how much is that?
09:33$4.
09:34$2.
09:35$1.
09:36$1.99.
09:37Apparently this whole package is $1.29.
09:40Hold on, $1.29?
09:41No way!
09:42I didn't think you'd get anything for $1.29 anymore.
09:45The ingredients are listed in the order of prominence.
09:48First ingredients are the chicken, and then water, and then corn syrup, salt, and then pork.
09:53And beef doesn't come until fourth or fifth.
09:56It's mechanically separated chicken.
09:58So, the mechanically separated stuff is where that really bad wrap of the lips and assholes is coming from.
10:04The bones are forced through this like high-powered sieve that squashes all of that soft tissue and any meat scraps left over off of the bone.
10:15And it makes sort of like this paste.
10:18But actually, I mean, I think mechanically separated meat is like kind of cool because it helps with, you know, waste and kind of getting everything you can out of an animal.
10:30Snake River Farms. American Wagyu Beef Gourmet Frankfurters.
10:33Now that is the right meat to bun ratio.
10:37This is a big dog.
10:38This is probably the thickest hot dog that we've gotten so far today.
10:42Visually, it looks a fancier, like more premium hot dog because it's very plump.
10:48Let's just see. Snap for everyone.
10:50Pretty good snap. Casings not falling apart.
10:52There's only two styles of natural casings that are going to ever be used in making a hot dog.
10:56It's either lamb or sheep, which is going to be that skinnier style hot dog similar to that Nathan's or that Sabrette's that we saw.
11:02Or if you're going to stay within the natural casings and you want a hot dog that's a little bit thicker or wider, the next step up would be into a pork casing.
11:08I'm like kind of scared of this one. I don't know why.
11:12No reason to be scared.
11:13That's moist. Good flavor. This is all beef. And all in all, this is a great hot dog.
11:17The texture has got that nice sort of bouncy, juicy, spongy.
11:20I'm getting all that seasoning, the garlic, the onion, the paprika, the nutmeg a little bit.
11:24Faint smoke flavor, but not overwhelming.
11:26It has a funny taste to it. I don't love the flavor, but I can't exactly pinpoint why.
11:31It doesn't taste like a traditional hot dog.
11:33For a traditional hot dog, it's generally scraps.
11:37The thing that gives it the bad reputation is actually the thing that I like the most about hot dogs and sausages.
11:42This is a more marketable, higher price point, all beef hot dog.
11:46Like something that's marketed as an Angus hot dog or maybe even a Wagyu hot dog.
11:49Like I want to say it's like Snake River Farms or something.
11:52Oh my God. I did it. I got it.
11:55Man, you guys are sparing no expense here.
11:57This is American Wagyu. Wagyu is something that has become very popular in the last 10 years.
12:04Wagyu literally translates to Japanese cow.
12:07They have much higher marbling throughout.
12:10In America, we created American Wagyu, which is basically a cross breed of Japanese Wagyu cattle with a type of cattle in the States like Angus cattle.
12:19Wagyu production is still going to create scraps that they can't use.
12:24So this is a smart way to do it.
12:25I don't believe any of this experience had to do with it being Wagyu beef.
12:31These folks have got the spice block down.
12:33I think that that Snake River Farms did a great job in marketing.
12:37Oscar Meyer, classic wieners.
12:41The tiny guy, especially after the last one.
12:43Probably like an inch shorter than the bun. The color of it is a little bit more pale.
12:47It's hard to compare the last hot dog to this just because of the size alone.
12:51It also has this like slit down the middle, which usually can happen when you're using a cellulose casing that's peeled off.
12:58No snap.
12:59Definitely not beef.
13:01It's very plump and it's firm.
13:03It's not juicy.
13:04I do taste a hint of like what tastes like maybe liquid smoke.
13:08There's no balance of flavor here.
13:09It's just bland.
13:11Definitely not as undesirable as the S brand that we had earlier.
13:14But it's definitely not as good as the Snake River Farms that I just had.
13:17When other types of meat are used in a hot dog besides beef, like poultry, you won't get the bounce or the sponginess that a hot dog is supposed to have.
13:25Traditionally speaking, the wieners being from Austria were made always with a blend of meats.
13:31Whether that makes them a different category of hot dog or not, I think it's probably debatable.
13:36I think the bigger debate is a hot dog a sandwich or not.
13:39Yeah.
13:40It's an Oscar Mayer wiener.
13:42Sure.
13:43Because wieners are made with chicken, turkey and pork.
13:45It is 100% tasty.
13:47That's what it says.
13:48I didn't say it.
13:49And it says mechanically separated chicken, mechanically separated turkey and pork.
13:54You have to list it as mechanically separated.
13:57Those claws don't just grab protein.
14:00They grab cartilage.
14:01They grab some bone.
14:03They grab the connective tissue that holds the muscle to the bone.
14:06They're still edible, but they're just not the most desirable cuts.
14:09So lower price point, lower flavor, lower experience.
14:12But check off the box of we had hot dogs at our picnic.
14:15Sure.
14:18Impossible.
14:19Beef hot dog.
14:20Oh, look at this weird looking thing.
14:22This definitely looks like an alternative meat hot dog.
14:26I just see snap and juiciness.
14:29Yeah.
14:30I don't see any casing here.
14:31No snap.
14:32No bounce.
14:33This doesn't taste like meat.
14:35That was strictly horrible.
14:36No, it's not nice.
14:38Oh, man.
14:39It doesn't taste good.
14:40It is pasty.
14:41It's not spongy at all.
14:42When you push down on this, it's not pushing back.
14:45If there is meat in there, there's an equal amount of filler.
14:47It doesn't have the same capability to like utilize scraps and make use of any kind of waste.
14:53So if somebody that has living a meatless diet and they're eating this,
14:57they're getting not even close to what the flavor profile texture or the enjoyment,
15:02the sheer enjoyment of what a hot dog is.
15:04To me, this tastes like impossible.
15:07Impossible.
15:09Meat from plants.
15:11Well, how could it be both?
15:12The second ingredient is wheat gluten.
15:14But it's basically just a textural thing that's made from wheat that has a chew and a pull to it.
15:20If you really want a hot dog and you don't eat meat, have something else.
15:26Bull Park, 100% beef Franks.
15:28It's super soft again and I can see that slit I was talking about where you can tell it's a peeled cellulose casing.
15:35Looks kind of plump.
15:36Kind of out of the gates to me.
15:37This is like probably a ballpark hot dog.
15:39Plumps when you cook them.
15:40It looks like it could be an all beef or a beef blend.
15:44Right away, what I'm worried about is again, that pasty, bland look.
15:48But actually like has a nice flavor.
15:50It's got some juice in there.
15:52Not super bouncy.
15:53It's definitely not firm.
15:54There is no snap in that hot dog, but it surprises me that it has some kick of flavor.
15:59It's deceiving because it looks a little dry, but see when you push it, it is juicy.
16:04I would say this is a balanced and juicy hot dog.
16:06Maybe like a ballpark?
16:08Their ingredient list is quite small.
16:10Beef, water, corn syrup, salt, lactates, hydrolyzed beef stock.
16:15Hydrolyzed beef stock is like beef stock that went through hydrolysis.
16:19You have these bones.
16:20Like you've taken every little piece of meat off of them.
16:22What do you now do with the bones?
16:24Well, cook them off into stock and then use it as an ingredient.
16:27Basically, it's a process of creating that umami like rich beefy flavor.
16:32Which I think is why I like the flavor so much.
16:36Yeah, I grew up on these.
16:37I think they're great.
16:38Kirkland beef hot dogs.
16:42Wow, this one has a very nice color to it.
16:45It's a little bit bigger than the bun.
16:47It smells very much like a hot dog.
16:49The hot dog, very cylindrical.
16:51Again, indicative of a non-natural casing.
16:54Breaking this in half, stays the right color like this, the right pink.
16:57See how moist that is?
16:58See how that color is?
16:59That's beautiful.
17:01Pretty good snap.
17:02Really great balanced flavor.
17:04This is a really good hot dog.
17:05Altogether, that's a great hot dog.
17:06This is kind of evoking a lot of nostalgia for me of like another similar to that ballpark prank that we had earlier.
17:12The outside texture is really nice.
17:13I like the crunch behind it.
17:14It's really juicy.
17:15You couldn't make something like this from finely textured beef or mechanically deboned beef.
17:20Pretty up there in terms of like meat beef flavor.
17:24Not my favorite.
17:25I prefer the Nathans because this one didn't have a casing on it.
17:30Is this a Costco hot dog?
17:32This is a Kirkland Costco hot dog.
17:35The holy grail.
17:36Costco makes more money on their subscriptions, their card member carrying services,
17:41than they do on the actual markup on the products they sell.
17:45And the individual hot dog they sell at the checkout is deliberately sold for a very low price point.
17:50It's considered something that's called a lost leader.
17:52Meaning they lose money on that hot dog, but they do it because sometimes it actually brings people in.
17:56Minimalistic packaging.
17:57They don't need to say much because Costco's brand recognition is already strong and people already know they love this hot dog.
18:02The co-founder of Costco said, if you raise the effing price on the hot dogs, I will kill you.
18:07So figure it out.
18:08And they figured it out.
18:10Bulls head uncured beef frankfurters.
18:14I'm a sucker for like the long ones that come out the bun.
18:17You can see the little ends of the natural casing that's on it.
18:20I like it's a regular shape already.
18:22So it's not completely cylindrical.
18:24This is a sheep casing.
18:25There was definitely love put into making this hot dog.
18:28Good snap, good juice.
18:29Firm and spongy.
18:31This hot dog has great flavor.
18:32It has great seasonings.
18:34I like the garlic.
18:35I think it's well balanced.
18:36I really like this one.
18:37I think it has a really nice meat forward flavor.
18:40It's got some umami to it.
18:41It's got some smoke to it.
18:43Definitely not as juicy as the Nathan's one.
18:45This to me tastes like a iconic New York City, like Jewish deli style hot dog.
18:50Oh, duh.
18:51Yeah.
18:52Boar's head.
18:53I'm not surprised that this is Boar's head.
18:54Boar's head has been around for a very long time.
18:56Looking at the ingredient list, it's really short.
18:59When the ingredient list is smaller, it's usually an indication of a higher quality product.
19:03So the price point on Boar's head is probably going to be more expensive for two reasons.
19:07First and foremost, they're probably the most name recognized brand on the market when it comes to cured meats or deli meats.
19:12They are also a vertically integrated company, meaning that every aspect of the ingredient list is produced within their brand.
19:18So they're going to be using higher quality ingredients throughout this process to bake this premium hot dog.
19:25Hebrew National Beef Franks.
19:28This has a really nice color.
19:30Not much snap, but the color and the juiciness is there.
19:33Really juicy hot dog.
19:34When you feel it in the casing, it feels very like bouncy.
19:37The casing is mush.
19:39There's not much to it.
19:40When you actually bite into it, it's a little like soft and grainy.
19:43I feel that the flavor is off.
19:46Super, super salt forward.
19:47I think the browning on this one actually was like most of the flavor that I was tasting.
19:52So all the hot dogs we've had here today have all been grilled, but that's not the only way you can cook a hot dog, right?
19:57You can grill them.
19:58You can steam them.
19:59You can boil them.
20:00You can put them on a stick and put them over a campfire.
20:02The browning of meat is the Maillard reaction.
20:05So that's the reduction of sugars.
20:07The increase in flavor.
20:09If you boil a hot dog, I remember my mom doing that many times.
20:13That casing can get a little tough, a little chewy, and you don't have the real same end product.
20:19Is it Hebrew National?
20:20Is it Hebrew National?
20:22I've got Hebrew National.
20:23I'm brokenhearted to say that it wasn't my favorite.
20:25Made with 100% kosher beef.
20:27Kosher is a set of dietary laws for Jewish people.
20:32They generally use in kosher butchery like only the fore quarter of the animal and not the hind quarter.
20:39It's actually less than that because of that half, there are some that don't qualify to be kosher.
20:44That all adds to the premium price of Hebrew National.
20:48It's a perfectly good hot dog.
20:51It's just very salty.
20:54Trader Joe's. Uncured beef hot dogs.
20:57This is glistening.
20:58Very juicy.
20:59Very fatty looking.
21:00Not a great snap.
21:02It doesn't really have that sort of bouncy, spongy, firmer texture to it.
21:05Got very good flavor.
21:06I'd say the only strange thing is just from this like skin.
21:10There's like some holes that maybe happen during the stuffing process that's leading to like a little bit of slackness and like wrinkliness.
21:17I don't believe that this was dried enough.
21:19The casing is sort of watery and falling apart.
21:22This to me might be like a Walmart brand or some sort of like store brand.
21:28Trader Joe's. Not a fan.
21:29I love Trader Joe's.
21:30I don't necessarily love your hot dog.
21:32The thing that's interesting about Trader Joe's though is that they like white label things.
21:36So like this could very well be made by like Hebrew National.
21:40Ingredients.
21:41We've got all beef.
21:42Smoke flavor added, which I don't love.
21:45No nitrates or nitrites.
21:46Citrus flour.
21:47That's another fun thing.
21:48It's literally ground up pith and peel from citrus.
21:51Citrus flour is very commonly added as a natural preservative in lieu of the sodium diacetate.
21:56I love everything Trader Joe's.
21:57That's why I'm like shocked that this is Trader Joe's.
21:59I've really yet to have anything from Trader Joe's I haven't just loved.
22:04Oscar Myers stuffed cheese hot dogs.
22:07Ooh, this one has cheese in it I think.
22:09I love a cheesy dog.
22:10I think a cheesy dog is a beautiful thing.
22:12Much is missing.
22:13Color wise does not look like it's made with all beef.
22:16That's cheesy.
22:17No snap.
22:18There's not a ton of juice in here either, but I think this is definitely pork or chicken.
22:22Cheese in hot dogs is typically processed with high temperature melting point cheeses.
22:27To make a cheese stuffed dog, you'll just make a hot dog in the normal way, like get your emulsification.
22:32Once it's emulsified, they'll then whip in tiny cubes of different cheeses.
22:39It has a bouncy texture, but almost like distractingly so.
22:42But I think when whipping it in again, what happens is that emulsified product is now getting another rework.
22:49And that's what makes it very bland in texture.
22:53It's more like a bologna than it is a hot dog.
22:55It couldn't be Oscar Mayer again, is it?
22:58But our most commonly consumed brand today, Oscar Mayer, who typically does dominate the hot dog market.
23:03Pasteurized prepared cheddar cheese product.
23:06That probably means that it's not real cheese.
23:08But is American cheese real cheese?
23:10You can find a better cheese dog on the market.
23:13Applegate, organic uncured turkey hot dog.
23:18Here's our next hot dog.
23:19It doesn't have a casing on it.
23:21It's peeled.
23:22Not so bad on size, but meat should taste like it smells.
23:26It's giving me a fake meat smell.
23:29If this hot dog tastes like it smells, it's going to be horrible.
23:33No mas, no mas.
23:35I don't like that one.
23:37Very spongy in not a good way.
23:39Kind of dry in the same sense again.
23:41I mean, you can see like this emulsification is so tight.
23:44This could be something that's more of like a turkey hot dog maybe, potentially.
23:47I see the spices, but I'm not tasting them.
23:49I'm mostly tasting salt and like poultry, I think.
23:53The thing that's a little bit more of a miss is just merely sort of the texture and the juiciness of it.
23:58I think that this is probably an Applegate product.
24:01Applegate!
24:03Uncured turkey hot dog.
24:04Even for turkey.
24:05I like turkey.
24:06I wouldn't eat it in this product.
24:08$10 a pack.
24:09Applegate is not cheap.
24:10Turkey hot dogs technically may be a little bit healthier for you because they're going to be lower in fat and cholesterol than beef.
24:17But a hot dog is, again, there's a lot of sodium, there's a lot of fat, and it's not something that you probably want to be eating every single day of the week.
24:24Now let's check the ingredients on this.
24:26Oh, so there's baking soda in here.
24:28Instead of using the sodium phosphates, you can use baking soda as a way for moisture retention to make the hot dog be juicier.
24:33But I do like that it's humanely raised, and when you read these type of attributes on a package and you have this little USDA circle down here, you can believe what's on this package.
24:44Now let's see which products are experts, like the most and the least.
24:48So for me, my top two favorites first in the natural casing category is going to be...
24:52The Nathan's Coney Island All Beef Hot Dog.
24:56For me, it's just that iconic flavor, that texture, that snap.
24:59Really juicy, really bouncy, just a perfect hot dog.
25:03For skinless hot dogs, I have to go with the Costco brand.
25:07It was just so good. Kirkland, they're consistent, big, juicy, really well flavored, that smokiness to it.
25:13Just a delicious skinless hot dog. You definitely can't go wrong.
25:16My favorite today was the Snake River Hot Dog.
25:18It had the right spice block, consistency, and the texture was perfect.
25:23Most importantly, the meat-to-bun ratio was perfect.
25:26It was a real wide hot dog, and it fit that bread perfectly.
25:30There's always got to be a loser, guys.
25:32And as much as I hate to hate, I have to say that first place loser is that impossible hot dog.
25:38The texture was really difficult, and it didn't have any juiciness, fattiness, richness.
25:44It smelled like chemical. It tasted worse.
25:47Who knew there was so much to talk about about hot dogs?
25:50From whether they're natural casings to skinless, to whether they're made with beef or made with chicken, turkey, and pork, or if they're made with impossible blends.
25:57Hot dogs get a bad rap, but at their core, they're a beautiful thing.
26:02They help us utilize scraps and make meat eating more sustainable.
26:06Hot dogs are an American pastime. We share them with our friends. They're easy to make.
26:11I am full of hot dogs. The sodium overwhelming on my palate right now is like...
26:16What do you like, douse you in water?
26:17Well, if I were to go take my blood pressure, they'd probably be like,
26:20hey, we gotta get this guy some Lipitor or something.
26:22Nothing.