How They Were Rated
The first thing I looked for was availability. If the hot dog brands were readily available in several area grocery stores, they then became a candidate. Are they available in your area? That I don't know. I hope so. It's just that the travel budget wasn't there to investigate all reaches of the country.
I chose standard dogs. No fancy flavors or sizes.
I judged them without toppings nor bun. The criteria I used for analysis was appearance (after grilling), snap, taste, texture and juiciness on a 1-5 scale. Five being best I also gave them some consideration for overall functionality. The best tasting dog in the world is useless to me if it doesn't fit a bun.
Uncooked and Grilled: From left to right. Nathan's, Hebrew National, Ball Park and Vienna Beef
Vienna Beef Franks
1 Appearance
4 Snap
4 Taste
2 Texture
3 Juiciness
14 TOTAL
Ball Park Bun Size Franks
4 Appearance
2 Snap
3 Taste
3 Texture
4 Juiciness
16 TOTAL
Hebrew National Beef Franks
2 Appearance
1 Snap
4 Taste
3 Texture
3 Juiciness
13 TOTAL
Nathan's Beef Franks
4 Appearance
3 Snap
3 Taste
4 Texture
4 Juiciness
18 TOTAL
Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners
I actually didn't include Oscar Mayer in the official testing because I used them all up making BurgerDogs. Yet that is the point of their honorable mention here. They are the king of the versatile hot dog category. The blue collar working dog, so to speak. I may not serve them up on a bun for guests, but you can guarantee that's the dog of choice when I'm adding it to a dish. It's also the dog of choice for kids. They love them!
Available just about everywhere, locating them easily is a big plus. Since most of us grew up eating these guys, it's hard not to embrace them. Although, I still don't wish to be an Oscar Mayer Wiener, for that is what I truly don't want to be, I will eat them.
Overall...
All in all, each one of these dogs had great flavor. I found Ball Parks' dogs to have an odd hint of something that I couldn't identify, yet it was still tasty. Although Nathan's was my favorite in taste, it was also the saltiest.
Hebrew National's was a bit mushy, while I found Ball Park's to be somewhat grainy.
Appearance greatly affected some of the scores. My beloved Vienna failed miserably. Although it's snap is exceptional due to their casing, that same casing also caused their demise. It wrinkled up like a Slim Jim beef stick. Not something I'd want to serve to my guests. Hebrew National didn't fare well on an open flame either. Now maybe these dogs would better perform by being steamed, my site is about grilling, not boiling water. Nathan's and Ball Park's dogs looked right at home on the grill.
You really can't go wrong with any of these dogs if appearance doesn't matter to you. To me, it does. My final selection comes down to Ball Park and Nathan's, but since the size of Ball Park's is tiny, I'll save those for chili dogs and grill up a Nathan's if I just want an old fashioned hot dog.
Happy Grilling!
