Hot Dogs

[AAK]

This may sound ridiculous, but are there any hot dogs that aren't as bad for you? Two of my dd love hotdogs (which I rarely buy) but I am curious about the difference between regular, all beef, and kosher dogs. Do the kosher ones eliminate nitrates? I would love to be able to buy some "better" dogs for when we BBQ etc without feeling like a bad mom.

Amy

[sedalbj]

I'm with you! I love hot dogs myself but hardly every have them. But I found hot dogs at a local farm made from their old dairy cows that are great. I recognize every ingredient in them! Now we have hot dogs for lunch once a week!

[cristeen]

Yes, there is a difference, and yes there are some that are actually not full of garbage. I can get nitrate free dogs made from pastured beef from my butcher - we have them a couple times a month usually.

If you're talking mainstream brands though - you'll have to read labels. I know there are a couple brands that are more widely available, but I can't find them where I shop.

[mamadelbosque]

We buy Applegate hotdogs - specifically "The Great" - its organic, nitrate/nitrite free, and wonderful!!

[Whistler]

We get these: http://www.hebrewnational.com/pages/products/index.jsp because they don't have the junk in them and they taste really good!

[AAK]

Thanks everyone! I never thought to ask the butcher, but it would be nice to grab a pack off the shelves too.

Amy

[columbusmomma]

We like Coleman brand, which we get at the grocery. Also there are a couple other brands I've found at WholeFoods, little ranchers(or something like that!)and applegate farms.

[Bri'sgirl]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

We buy Applegate hotdogs - specifically "The Great" - its organic, nitrate/nitrite free, and wonderful!!

YES! We just "discovered" these and they are wonderful! And they are grass-fed, pastured. At $7 for 8, we won't be having them too often, but maybe once a month or so.

I'll have to ask the butcher at our local Sunflower Market if they make their own, since they make their own brats and breakfast sausage.

[earthmama4]

We buy Bistro brand. They are really yummy - uncured, no additives and "only" $5 at the regular grocery store. Fun for cookouts in our outdoor firepit DH gave me.

[blessedwithboys]

i like applegate, havent had colemans, but for really mainstream healthy dogs, you cant beat oscar meyer! they are so yum!

[claddaghmom]

Bistro...I craved hotdogs like there was no tomorrow when I was pregnant.

But after we had the baby, we added up the calories from a hotdog w/ bun and condiments. Bye bye hotdogs! lol

[heket]

I dunno, I like to stay away from Oscar Meyer items myself..

We love the Applegate ones. I find they taste better than Hebrew Nationals. I like they're made from organic, grass fed cows. If I can't afford them then we opt for Trader Joe's nitrate free hot dogs.

[Subhuti]

I've been enjoying the appelgate ones as well. We have them every week.

I just found some buffallo hot dogs. They look and taste almost exactly like the beef hotdogs. Very good!

Liz

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by Whistler

We get these: http://www.hebrewnational.com/pages/products/index.jsp because they don't have the junk in them and they taste really good!

Spiritually superior; nutritionally not so much. They do still use some of the preservatives that concern people.

[mnnice]

We have a few pounds of hot dogs made from the beef quarter we by yearly. The hot dogs are MGS and nitrate free and made from grassfeed beef. That being said they end up being more expensive than the steaks because there is an upcharge to make them.

Organic Prarie also makes hot dogs. I wasn't real crazy about them, but I'm not big on hot dogs period.

[LeahC]

Our current favorite is Organic Prairie hotdogs. They are delicious and nitrite/ nitrate free. We love the beef ones and the chicken are good. We also like Applegate, but I find them more salty than the OP ones.

For a regular ole' nitrite/ nitrate laden dog- you can't beat a Hebrew National Kosher dog. Yummo! They are a nice treat every now and then.

[treemom2]

wah, I got really excited when I saw Hebrew National here and went right to their site to read their ingredients (we can get this brand here and DH loves hotdogs/sausages. . .but has a horrible allergy to Sodium Nitrate/Nitrite). . .but alas, they also contain the sodium nitrates/nitrites. . .poor DH

[Amandamanda]

we get nitrate free turkey dogs.

[i0lanthe]

Originally Posted by columbusmomma

We like Coleman brand, which we get at the grocery. Also there are a couple other brands I've found at WholeFoods, little ranchers(or something like that!)and applegate farms.

Our grocery store has Coleman and also Niman Ranch "fearless franks" which are good too.

[katiesk]

I just found some buffallo hot dogs. They look and taste almost exactly like the beef hotdogs. Very good!

buffalo is great meat!!