I love hot dogs. I love them them grilled, panfried, dirty water…even microwaved. I like them most any way, favorites being a juicy natural casing dirty water dog with brown mustard, onion, and sauerkraut, eaten standing up on a street corner, Chicago dogs, and West Virginia dogs (chili, mustard, onion, and coleslaw). The problem is they are also calorie bombs. I have discovered that the Ball Park lean dogs are pretty darned good and quite low calorie. They still have a lot of psychological nutrients.
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Life hasn’t been the same since Costco stopped selling Polish dogs and sauerkraut. Just sayin’.
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Appreciating the hot dog scholarship I do agree about the psychological nutrients !
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Hmmm. I need low carb, not low cal. And I love the “snap”. I’m not completely sure how a “hot dog” differs from other sausage, but I know what I like. I loved “hot dogs”, Italian sausage, and kielbasa growing up, but it’s not so easy now.
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I have tried low carb hot dog buns like Nature’s Own. It would take a TON of chili to make one tasty to me. I like Martin’s. I’ll cut back on carbs elsewhere,
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Buns?
Rolls…whatev.
JK. I only meant I don’t eat the “bread part”. But I’ve often been curious about how “hot dogs” are different from other sausage, some of which are not associated with buns/rolls. I know I have read the history, but still wonder about the ongoing association with buns/rolls.
Agreed (except for not eating the bun/roll). My favorite hot dog is a brat simmered in beer and onion, grilled over charcoal, covered in curry ketchup (on a Martin’s roll/bun). It is also delectable without the roll/bun.
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Randall’s (Safeway here) used to be the only place I knew to get Nathan’s n/c; haven’t seen them in a couple of years. However, they picked up DIetz & Watson as supplier for their deli up front and I’ve tried 2 lines of D&W n/c dogs. Both had too much snap for me.
Nathan’s was always back in the packaged meat cases (bacon, sandwich meats) at the back while D&W is in the manned deli/SIgnature Cafe area at the front.
HEB and Kroger both stock Boar’s Head, at least 2 lines of N/C dogs. Central Market has Sabrett’s n/c, though not always in stock.
I can get Boar’s Head at other places, including Sprouts, Usinger’s at a deli downtown, and various n/c dogs at Russian delis and a Polish grocery store, all sourced from Chicago meat packers I think.
I can get n/c dogs I like but it’s a very small portion of what’s available without natural casings and I have to travel to get them.
My favorites now are Fork in the Road (Whole Foods, freezer) and Sabrett’s.
Aldi sometimes has n/c dogs during Deutsche Keutsche week promotions - made in the USA (Chicago I think) but ‘German style.’ Had some veal and pork dogs from there I really liked once.
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Exactly the way they should be.
And whether something is a calorie bomb is all relative. Compared to, say, walnuts, ounce for ounce hot dogs are actually quite the calorie pipsqueak.
Downloaded this some time ago to my ‘ideas for hot dogs’ file and credited it as Jonny Dog Deep Fried Hungarian Pepper dog. Can’t find a Jonny Dog online but found this in Phoenix. Don’t see it on the menu.
Anyway, looks good to me and you don’t need the bun.
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I first heard of Fork in the Road on FTC. Maybe that was you over there? If so, credit due and thanks. Now one of my two favorites.
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Thank you for all that. Here in SoCal my local chain markets carry Boars Head but I don’t think I’ve ever seen natural casings. We do have Whole Foods, but I don’t frequent them as they’re not very close. When I do go to one I’ll have to remember to look for Fork In The Road. We have Aldi too but I kinda think ‘Deutsche Keutsche week promotions’ are a Chicago/Midwest thing.
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Safeway seems to be the supermarket here for natural casing hot dogs. The store I usually go to has several:
Double R Ranch Beef Franks - Same company as Snake River Farms but a step down from their SRF branded products. I actually like these better than SRF.
Snake River Farms American Style Kobe Beef Gourmet Frankfurters
Bovine & Swine Natural Cased Uncured Beef Hot Dogs (I bought these yesterday but haven’t tried them yet)
I think my local Safeway also carries a Falls Brand natural casing hot dog and maybe one more brand. I haven’t had either of those.
The Kroger affiliate I shop at only carries Boar’s Head natural casing hot dogs.
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Found this.
And a California entry.
The whole hot dog name was made to de-Germanize the Wiener or Frankfurter for Americans, as far as I understand. Wasn’t it marketed as a hot dog, with the bun, at the St Louis World’s Fair?
The American Eskimo Dog (as in a canine) was originally called a German Spitz.
Can’t find natural casing dogs in SC either. I order them by the case from Usinger’s in Milwaukee. Vac pack them on arrival, but I believe they offer vac packs as well.
https://www.usinger.com/deli/link-products/same-as-wieners-except-longer-in-length.html
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That’s what I remember, and the bun was to make it easier or neater to eat with your hands. I suppose part of its appeal continues to be eating it with your hands.
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Yum. 
. There doesn’t seem to be anything specific about flavorings.
Growing up, we were more likely to eat knockwurst, at least at home.
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