The people at Consumer Reports recently rated the best hot dogs of 23 different well-known brand names. Their top-rated hot dog were the all beef wieners from Hebrew National. I don't know if the Hebrew National hot dogs are the best, but they are very good.
I've wanted to conduct my own hot dog taste test at some point in time - boiling each hot dog in water with beef broth and placing each in a Sara Lee Gourmet Hot Dog Buns for uniformity. I have access to about eight or nine different types of specialty hot dogs that I've picked up in my travels and I'm not certain my body could take the punishment. Although I love hot dogs, I don't eat them as much as I used to. And at my age, it's probably a good thing.
Still, I don't quite know if Hebrew National hot dogs warrant the crown of the best hot dogs in America. They are pretty tasty for hot dogs, but I've always been a little leery of Consumer Reports rankings. So, I take their hot dog rankings with a grain of salt.
Hebrew National was founded in 1905 by Romanian immigrant Isadore Pines. The full name of the company was Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Factory, Inc. and the Pines family made their kosher sausages, hot dogs and meats in lower Manhattan. They supplied the meat to countless Jewish delicatessens through out New York City. Over the years, the Pines family changed the way they did business to cater more to the suburban family by packaging meats and selling them in meat cases in grocery stores.
In 1968, the Pines family sold their company to Riviana Foods, which was taken over by Colgate-Palmolive in 1976.
In 1980, Isadore Pines' grandson - Isidore "Skip" Pines - bought Hebrew National back from Colgate-Palmolive and took the company to a more healthy path, both financially and in terms of more healthy recipes for the way the make their hot dogs. He pushed the company to make the Hebrew National hot dogs the original way with no artificial flavorings or colorization, and with no by-products or fillers, effectively minimizing the "modern way" of how most hot dogs were made at the time.
Pines looked to acquire other food businesses and manufacturers, and in doing so, he changed the name of the company to National Foods. He moved the operation from New York City to Indianapolis in the late 80's, establishing a non-kosher line of meats called National Deli. That move soon proved to be the downfall of the company. Eventually, Pines was forced to sell the company to food giant Con-Agra. The Hebrew National brand name survived and now the hot dogs are made at a Con-Agra plant in Michigan.
When boiled in water, the Hebrew National hot dogs have a big, beefy taste, but not the salty aftertaste you'll find in a number of other hot dogs in most grocery stores meat cases. (I usually stay away from the ones that have a lot of sodium in them. Most of the gourmet hot dogs I've gotten have minimal amounts of sodium.)
The Hebrew National hot dog is not very big - it's rather skinny compared to the hot dogs like the ones from Vienna Beef, Usinger's or Fairbury Meat's Tom Boy hot dogs. They fit perfectly in most hot dog buns with plenty of room to spare for condiments.
Although they have great flavor, I don't care much for the smallish nature of the Hebrew National hot dogs. They're just not that substantial of a hot dog and sort of get lost in the bun.
Since they're owned by Con-Agra, you can find Hebrew National hot dogs at most grocery stores in the Midwest. They're also the hot dog of choice at Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the Omaha Royals, the AAA affiliate for the Kansas City Royals; and also the home of the College World Series.
It's that time of year when families or friends are grilling on the deck and if you're looking for some hot dogs to grill, pick up a pack of Hebrew National dogs and see what you think. They're good, but in my opinion, there's better ones out there.
Comments