Organic all-beef hot dogs?
Is there much of a taste difference between these and the regular all-beef hot dogs? I notice that they have half the fat, and mention "uncured". thanks!
HWiley
Jun 28, 2006 11:27PM
21 Replies so Far
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I like them a lot. I don't know if they taste different as I haven't eaten a regular all beef hotdog in 25 years or so. But I really do like the organic version when I get a yen for a hotdog with all the fixin's.
Sorry I'm not more help.
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thanks for the response. It just sparked my curiousity as I have never seen them before. I found an article online about it. It seems that there is a taste difference (not only between the brands, obviously) between even the "grass-fed" and the "organic".
Here is the link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
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If you want a chowhoundish opinion on the taste, here's my post from last year on the Let's Be Frank dog . . . highly recommended and totally worth the price from a strictly hedonistic point of view.
http://chowhound.com/topics/show/39647
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Thanks Melanie!
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One of the biggest differences in organic hot dogs (and any other sausages) is that the organic ones cannot contain nitrates/nitrites. These two beasties are commonly used in curing and preserving sausages. But are a big NO NO in the organic world. I've worked in the organic industry for just under 10 years now, and the nitrates/nitrites have always been disallowed.
That said...nothing quite like a good dog all the way, eh?
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I don't know if they are better or worse tasting since I don't care any typ of hotdogs but my son loves them. We try to avoid processed meats but he got turned onto hot dogs at a BBQ last year. When he gets the craving I will buy the nitrate free dogs. Served on a whole wheat roll I try to feel he is eating something healthier though I know I am probably just kidding myself!
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Well, even though I've always have stuck with Nathan's, I am certainly mindful of what I was actually eating. I could never go to veggie dogs, etc. Once you are hooked on the real thing, it is difficult to try anything else. However, I am finding that in comparing different organic brands via ratings that there are taste differences (just as there are in the brands in the regular). I certainly didn't want to fill my fridge up with a bunch of different hot dogs, but I think I found a brand I am going to try - Niman Ranch Fearless uncured franks. They are not organic, but nitrate free and smoked over hickory. The company seems to care about their product. I hear it is quite difficult and takes even years to have an organic farm. (But that is a whole other discussion, which I'm sure OrganicGal knows much more about). Anyways, these dogs certainly aren't cheap - 4 in a pkg. $8.95. Has anyone tried them? I'm going to try to find them for the weekend and will report back.
Thanks everyone for your insights!
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Trader Joe carries these in California area and they are considerably less expensive than that. They have both the cured and uncured. Hope this helps.
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The only nitrite free and/or organic hot dog that I tried and liked was Niman Ranch. It is a quality dog, but not as good as Nathan's. Or my three favorite all beef dogs; Best's (New Jersey, not Chicago) Usinger's, or Sabrett.
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These are pretty good (Niman Ranch). They cooked up on the grill a little dry, but they certainly have a lot of flavor.
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The organic dogs I've tasted all stink to a greater or lesser extent; I've tried many brands in the hope of finding one, but invariably I taste and toss the dog (why waste calories on bad chow?). I've decided that's one of the products where organic is a loss in terms of flavor and texture. And the whole idea of a reduced fat frankfurter is just a no-no from a sausage point of view!
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I'm not a fan of the Niman organic dogs. But "Let's Be Frank" showed me the possibilities.
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Interestingly enough, the Fearless Franks didn't even have less the fat - but certainly a lot less sodium - and lot fewer weird ingredients than a Nathan's. There was also an article in the New York times just yesterday. Niman mentioned that they have to be steamed to best retain the flavor and texture (Fearless Franks). They definately cooked differently on the grill compared to a Nathan's. Let's Be Frank's dogs seemed to get a good review too.
Note: My first post, I based on Applegate farms, out of curiousity without knowing the other brands existed.
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For those nopt fortunate enough to live near PAPAYA KING or NATHAN'S in Coney Island, the only real Hot Dogs are either Hebrew National or Nathans, or those served at PAPAYA KING or NATHAN'S in Coney Island.
Everything else is a pale imitation.
I am all for "organic" if it really is better and that does mean taste taste better. Organic eggs, chicken, milk, meet the test. Hot Dogs don't.
When I want a real Hot Dog, it is PAPAYA KING or NATHAN'S. We were out at the beach this weekend and after a 4 mile walk, we stopped at NATHAN'S for Hot Dogs, Fries, and home made fresh Lemonade. Pure heaven! All beef, grilled.
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The problem with organic dogs appears to be trying to do two things at once: be organic, and be lower in fat. The latter is a problem for red-meat sausages -- it just conflicts with the basic mission. Applegate Farms actually touts that it only uses lean whole-muscle cuts, and that to me explains why it's such a horrible dog. The *point* of sausages is to use fatty leftover cuttings, and environmentally that is also better because it ensures that more of the animal is used an eaten. Sorta reminds me of people complaining about how offal and organ meats are used in animal food -- completely misunderstanding that, through most of history, animals have wanted the fats and the organs first, the lean muscle last. The age where the boneless, skinless chicken breast is the gold standard of eatable flesh is a denatured age.
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I had to sign up just so I could put my 2 cents in. I am looking for an organic hot dog that tastes good. I've bought Applegate Farms organic, uncured hot dogs twice and they are gross. I love all beef dogs; I bought these for my daughter (18 months) so she won't be 150 lbs with boobs by the time she is 5. She eats them, probably because she doesn't have much choice, but YECH! I may have to go back to the diseased, contaminated stuff. Hebrew National is good, but I'm not sure it's organic, is it?
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No, it most certainly is not. But that does not mean it's necessarily "diseased, contaminated stuff" (btw, organic things can be just as diseased and contaminated as anything else -- sometimes even more; organic simply has to do with the method or raising or rearing, not handling or health). Hot dogs are not health food and are disgusting when they attempt to be that (as I noted above, lean and hot dog do not belong in the same sentence, unless terrible is in there too). One way to enjoy hot dogs but not have a caloric disaster is to approach them more like other sausages. That is, choose a well-flavored (also meaning fatty) dog in natural casing, pan-grill it gently over low-medium heat until browned well on all sides; this maximizes flavor. You can go further and slice it up on the bias and brown it further and use it in salad and soups and all sorts of things you'd use sausage for, and skip the bun. If you use a bun, toast it to increase flavor (me, I like to toast it flat on the pan that the franks cooked in...). In other words, draw more flavor out of everything (rather than using condiments to substitute for flavor) and you might end up eating less and enjoying more.
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I have to disagree with you. An organic or grass-fed hot dog does not mean it is trying to be a health food. It means that someone is actually paying attention to what goes in them, hence, nitrate-free, and animals are treated humanely. Not only that, but organic entails that each package can be traced back the to the farm and the cow. You know there must be a reason why more people are paying attention to the food supply. The reason why it doesn't taste good, is because we are too accustomed to eating the original full of salt and who knows what else. It's like trying to teach a young kid to eat veggies when he has been hooked on junk food.
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A frankfurter is a specific thing: a salty, garlicky, fatty sausage made of pork (and in the US if not Germany, pork or beef or some combo thereof). There are zillions of other kinds of sausages, many of which are great and others of which are not. A sausage that is low-sodium and low-fat but flavorful may be many things but it's not a hot dog, and there is zero reason it needs to pose as one. If I asked for pizza and someone gave me bruschetta, I'd be pretty upset. A good deal of this thread has to do with the fact that people are approaching organic hot dogs with the hopeful expectation that they will have the taste and texture and behavior of a hot dog; some limited suggestions have been made about the few prospects that might come somewhat closer to that expectation for some folks tastebuds, which is great.
And I very much appreciate what the organic movement is trying to do. That said, it is not good to overstate the case for anything. Just because a sausage is produced organically does not automatically mean it could not unwittingly have been made from diseased or contaminated ingredients: there are plenty of organic ways for foods to become diseased and/or contaminated, as the history of food consumption before modern industrial husbandry and agriculture can amply attest in spades. People assuming organic automatically equals healthy and healthier are not doing the organic movement any favors. It would be better to focus on the other benefits of reduced processing and sustainable agriculture and husbandry, as you've described them.
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I find this conversation very interesting, here's my experience. I bought Trader Joe's Best in Show hot dogs (sausage, excuse me) out of curiosity and because I needed a quick to make, portable lunch option for work. The whole lack of nitrates thing was the hook, a token effort towards healthier eating. Tried it (microwaved)on a potato roll with mustard, relish and a little sriracha sauce. It was good enough to become a regular in my work lunch cycle with some variations in the condiments to keep it interesting.
I recently had a Nathans dog at a cook-out and was completely grossed out. The mouth feel was too mushy and I could taste all the artificial ingredients left out of the TJs sausage. I used to like them and now I'm afraid to try a Papaya King next time I'm in NY for fear of the same reaction. Basically, I inadvertantly conditioned myself to dislike what I once enjoyed. So, if you love your hot dogs, beware the organic imitators.
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Great!
My reaction here arises precisely because I have been woefully disappointed by the many organic hot dog varieties I have been able to lay my hands on. I am hopeful that, someday, someone will get the right thing. But the problem is precisely because sausages have long used chemicals for curing, long before industrialization, and organic products that omit chemical cures tend to be something other than a hot dog. At least for now.
Now, you see I am a champion of New England-style corned beef: it's gray and without nitrates. It produces a much beefier flavored and well-textured corned beef. It's still available in some local chains, made on the premises. I think it's better than the pink corned beef that prevails elsewhere (but our method is the older and more traditional method, so ours still counts as corned beef), but I realize it would surprise many folks from away, as it were. I was hoping that organic hot dogs might be a similar experience for me, but I have been sadly disappointed. Often, I find the organic dogs are tampered with in other ways (like lower salt and lower fat) that just violate the basic nature of a hot dog in the erstwhile name of health.
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