How We Tested

From the “hot water” sausages of Coney Island to the pineapple-topped “puka dogs” of Kauai, you can find a hot dog in nearly every corner of America. While how you dress your dog varies with regional custom (like your hot dogs with ketchup? Don’t show your face in Chicago), the sausages themselves remain relatively constant across all 50 states—a mixture of meat trimmings, water, salt, and seasonings is stuffed into casings (sometimes natural but usually made from cellulose) and then smoked and cooked. Cellulose casings are stripped off after cooking, so most supermarket hot dogs are skinless.

Traditional frankfurters—the kind originally brought over by European immigrants in the mid-1800s—are primarily pork-based and can still be found in supermarkets nationwide. But nearly every hot dog manufacturer we talked to told us that all-beef hot dogs now vastly outsell traditional frankfurters because of their punchier meatiness and more straightforward ingredient list. (Pork frankfurters today are often bulked up with added poultry or soy.) With the goal of finding the best supermarket all-beef hot dogs, we cooked up the seven top-selling national varieties of skinless dogs for 21 America’s Test Kitchen staffers. To keep everything consistent, we locked away the condiments and served the hot dogs two ways: first boiled and bunless and then grilled and stuffed into buns.

Tasters immediately took issue with thin or skimpy dogs that practically disappeared when we nestled them into standard buns. Almost half the samples were deemed too petite by tasters, so we broke out a scale and calipers to measure the dogs. Top dogs were up to 12 percent plumper than lower-ranked ones, allowing for a higher meat-to-bun ratio in each bite. Our favorite hot dogs were also almost 20 percent heavier than low-scoring products—51 grams per dog versus 41 grams.

But bigger wasn’t always better, as some larger dogs had texture issues. Two products were downgraded for their off-putting textures: one was too dry, the other too wet and squishy. The ideal hot dog has a bouncy, snappy texture and a moderate moisture level; from our prior investigating in other sausage stories, we know that this ideal texture is achieved, in part, by a proper balance of fat and protein. So we scrutinized the ingredient labels and compared fat and protein levels. Though they all contained similar amounts of protein, the dog that tasters deemed dry was far too lean, with less than half the fat of our winner—about 7 grams of fat compared with 15 grams of fat in our top-ranked product. We preferred dogs with more fat, which were tender and juicy with just the right amount of bounce and snap.

But what about the wet, squishy dog? While it had fat and protein levels similar to the top-ranked products, it contained twice as many carbohydrates as any of the other samples. While most manufacturers bulk up their hot dogs with added corn or corn syrup for a smoother texture and a sweeter flavor, our science editor explained that this product likely used too much—as evidenced by the high carbohydrate levels—making for a mushy and wet dog.

As for flavor, too much corn or corn syrup also had a big impact. Hot dogs that listed corn products as primary ingredients tended to be too sweet, while our favorites either contained no corn products or reported adding “2% or less” on ingredient lists. Spice was also important: While manufacturers wouldn’t tell us exactly what spices they used, tasters docked lower-ranked products for flavors that seemed out of place. Strong notes of celery salt, paprika, cabbage, or warm spices were no-gos; we preferred dogs with prominent smoky, beefy flavor and strong saltiness. Our favorite hot dogs contained the most sodium of any product—550 milligrams versus as little as 292 milligrams per dog in other samples—and tasters thought these dogs had the punchiest flavor.

In the end, Nathan’s Famous Skinless Beef Franks earned the top spot for their robust, meaty flavor and juicy, tender texture. These large, beefy dogs had a substantial heft and a bold, meaty flavor that held its own in a bun. We’ll be keeping Nathan’s on hand for summer barbecues and easy weeknight dinners.

Methodology

Twenty-one America’s Test Kitchen staffers sampled seven top-selling nationally available all-beef hot dogs, first boiled and served plain and then grilled and stuffed into hot dog buns. Sales data was obtained from IRI, an independent Chicago-based research firm. Weights, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and ingredients were all taken from nutritional labels and, where applicable, recalculated to a standard 50-gram serving size to aid in comparing them. Size measurements were taken using calipers.