What is the best hot dog? We're not talking about the best places to get a hot dog, because not everyone is going to travel around the country to find a great one. Sometimes, you only want to travel as far as your local market. Not a problem - you can find some great hot dogs there! Just as with the frozen pizza review, these are rated on a scale of 1-10. Since all the brands seem to be popular, there are not "worst" picks on this list because even the mild tasting Ball Parks have appeal. In general, when choosing dogs, you wil generally be better off paying for an all-beef dog in terms of quality and flavor. Just remember one thing: don't boil your dogs. You'll get a much better flavor and texture through grilling, frying, broiling or even toasting them.
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Boar's Head - Larger than most other brands, Boar's Head dogs are also a bit more expensive. You can taste the quality in these juicy, all-beef franks. 10/10
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Nathan's Famous - Famed for their eatability, these all-beef franks come in both skinless and encased varieties. The skinless ones grill up excellently, with a beefy flavor and flavorful smell, while the cased dogs have a great "snap" when you bite into them. 9/10
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Hebrew National - These dogs are beefy with high-quality meat. Even the reduced fat variety of this all-beef brand is worth a bite. They have a nice snap, grill up well and tastes great. If you over-cook them, though, the casing can get a little tough. 8.5/10
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Oscar Mayer - These are fairly good dogs, though they have a slightly artificial flavor to them. They're not going to hit it out of the ball park when it comes to look or flavor, but they'll definitely bring some people back to the grill for seconds. 6/10
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Ball Park Franks - These look very similar to Oscar Mayer wieners and taste very similar, though they tend to be on the salty side. Frankly, some batches seem to be better than others, but when they're good, they're not bad and kids love them. 5/10
- Sabrett - Sabrett beef dogs are known for their snap, given by their natural casing, and are actually lower in fat than some other dogs. They are very tasty and a bit on the spicy side, but the undertone of smoke flavor is noticeable. They're not kosher, but claim to be "kosher-style. " 8/10
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Healthy Choice Beef- A healthy hot dog? Yup. The all beef ones taste the best out of their lineup of franks, with a blend of spices that makes them taste great for only 70 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. Even Marvo liked them. 7/10
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Yves Veggie Dogs - Considering that these have no meat, they taste surprisingly like some of the other hot dogs, though they can't compare to the all-beef picks for a carnivore. On their own merits, they could use a bit of extra seasoning, but actually taste very good, especially for having 60 calories and no fat per dog. 6/10
[Photo by Nicole Weston]














