I started eating solid food since I was two. I am now in my 7th decade! During this 60+ years, I have encountered my fair share of ’ unexpectedly bad, yucky tasting food '!
Sadly, tonight, I have to add these expensive and overpriced " Alderwood Grass-fed Beef Hot-Dog Sausages ', bought from ’ Healthy Planet ’ to the list!
Made without the use of regular sausage skin wrapper to create that desirable ‘pop’ , the coarse texture of the meat tasted one dimensional and unappealing, the taste component void of any spice seasoning to enhance the flavour.
If I were to give them to some German friends to try, for sure they will CRY!! So intolerably bad, my wife threw the 3 remaining ( $6 ) sausages…( yup! $2 per sausage!) , into the perishable garbage bin!
I’m talking about commercial chicken hot dogs from the ordinary Canadian grocery store sealed in plastic, not chicken boudin from a 4th generation Bavarian butcher in northern California.
My ordinary Irish Canadian butcher makes good chicken sausages. I’m talking about factory made chicken dogs.
I’m 1/4 Bavarian Canadian. I don’t think that gives too much credibility, but I know what I like.
(I’m also not talking about every chicken sausage or hot dog ever made!)
As a kid I thought Oscar Mayer hot dogs were horrible and dreadful, no real meat flavor, bland and not much fat. I’d say similar for Farmer John hot dogs (SoCal thing), except there was fat but the seasoning was horrible and the texture chunky. Same for Dodger Dogs made by Farmer John…and I’m a lifetime Dodgers fan (go evil empire). If you put either in front of me now, I’d refuse them. Those are the worse I’ve ever had because I had them as a kid and I assume they’re the same, or even worse.
Chicken and turkey hotdogs are generally bad, not enough fat and texture is odd, usually under seasoned. I’d say the same about not enough fat for some premium, grass fed beef hot dogs like Nieman Ranch….too dry. I think premium, healthy hot dogs often fall into this category. Hot dogs and most sausage need fat and decent seasoning, IMO. Hot dogs are generally not healthy….but that’s why they taste good….it’s the fat and salt.
Ref: " IMO. Hot dogs are generally not healthy….but that’s why they taste good….it’s the fat and salt."
That was exactly my thought!..hence I’ve been avoiding them since God knows when!!!
Unfortunately in this case, I was fooled by the ’ No nitrite ', ’ all natural ‘, ’ Grass Fed Beef ’ label and decided to give them a try in the hope of satisfying my ’ hot dog/preserved meat fix’ with this ’ healthy product '!
Guess when it comes to hot dog ', " healthy and tasty " are NOT mutually inclusive!
I think with hot dogs, you want more nitrates and preservatives. The Wagyu hot dogs at Farm Boy get slimy in the fridge really quickly compared to a regular Shopsy’s or Schneider’s hot dog.
There are a few smaller batch hot dogs I like, but some fancy ones have been complete duds.
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the OP’s description of these and 10 being a juicy, well seasoned, natural casing dog, there are plenty in the 7-8 range. Most people who eat tube steaks have settled on one of these and developed a fondness for them. There are very few 9-10 options. Trying the unknown in a quest to find a 9-10 is often disappointing. Looking for a healthier choice that is a 7-8 is almost always a disappointment, too. Experimenting with unknown hot dogs is mad science. Unless your regular choice is out, you come across one that respected (by you) tasters seem to love, or you come across an unknown natural casing dog with good fat and spice content according to its label, stay in your lane. Better still, try a different kind of sausage, like a brat. Anyway, thanks for the warning!
I will always remember the episode of Get Smart in which Maxwell Smart, in the stands of a baseball game, passes along a hot dog from the vendor to the customer who ordered it.
The hot dog slips out of the bun, unbeknownst to the customer, and all the guy has left is the bun and toppings. He chomps down and proclaims, “Wow, this is the best hot dog I’ve ever tasted.”
I am not sure anyone ever eats a hot dog without toppings. That’s most of the flavor.
Thanks, Mel Brooks.
5 Likes
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
16
Good point. We eat hot dogs maybe twice a year and I only ever do them as onion chili cheese dogs, baked in Pyrex pans.
2 Likes
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
17
There’s one commercial brand of chicken dog-like thing that my wife and kids like; unfortunately I know it when I see it but can’t recall the name.
But these are more than just chicken dogs, having apple in them too, so they really don’t count.
We started growing fond of the ginormous hot dog available at Sam’s Club (along with a bucket of soda we don’t drink ) for $1.38. Hard to beat that price — especially when yer sharing it
My ideal hot dog toppings are yellow mustard, ketchup, onions. A hot dog without toppings is just a salt-lick with enough sodium to last us a month.
You folks are way too picky! I mean, it’s a tube of meat made from leftover slaughterhouse scraps! Ears, snouts, chicken lips…a far cry from their Austrian beginnings. Hot dogs are not meant to be great, which is why the truly outstanding ones stick in your mind. As for me, I’ll eat just about any hot dog EXCEPT for a veggie “dog”. Had one once, and I swear it was 50% sawdust. Granted, this was probably 1982, and I’m sure they’ve gotten better since then, but once was enough.
) for $1.38. Hard to beat that price — especially when yer sharing it 
