As the Fourth of July approaches, I decided to conduct a taste test to determine the best hot dog for my cookout. With Americans consuming approximately 7 billion hot dogs and generating around $614 million in sales between Memorial Day and Labor Day, it’s no surprise that the market for hot dogs is booming during this time. To find the brand that offered the most value for my money, I selected beef hot dogs from four different brands: Applegate, Sabrett, Nathan’s, and Ball Park.
Each brand had its own unique qualities that set it apart from the others. For example, Ball Park had the thickest frank of all four brands. However, Sabrett did not meet my expectations in terms of flavor given its higher price tag. On the other hand, I found Applegate’s organic hot dogs to be the most flavorful of the bunch.
In preparation for this taste test, I prepared each hot dog in the same manner and served them on Martin’s long potato rolls with Heinz ketchup and French’s classic yellow mustard. After tasting each brand, I ranked them from worst to best based on my preferences. The results were surprising – Nathan’s came out on top as my favorite brand with its juicy texture and tangy flavor. Sabrett came in second place with its slightly spicy kick while Applegate came third due to its lackluster flavor compared to Nathan’s and Sabrett’s offerings. Finally, Ball Park finished last place because of its thin texture which left me craving more substance in each bite
