Published on July 3, 2026 04:00 am
A hot dog is not a Grand Cru Burgundy.
You wouldn’t know this from reading the “best hot dogs” roundups published around this time every year. Contenders have been ranked. They have scored. They are turned on the palate and probed for subtle notes of something or other.
This is not the way any sane person eats a hot dog.
Often, the dogs being considered are actually different types, so it doesn’t make sense to compare or rank them. “There are so many different regional styles,” says chef, author and hot dog pundit Farid Sadeghin. “One of the things I love to do when I travel is discover these classics that a lot of people don’t know about.” This kind of open-hearted curiosity and spirit of adventure is what we should all bring to our hot dogs.
In The Hot Dog Cookbook: 50 Recipes for the World’s Best Food, Sadeghin brings home what she has discovered from a collection of hot dogs from all over the planet. From Argentinian chimichurri to Alaskan onions roasted in Coca-Cola, the recipe for any topping you could possibly want is here.
Sadeghin himself has some solid and even surprising advice for cooking and serving sausage, especially when it comes to turning it out. ”It’s low-maintenance food that demands a little sunshine,” she says. Depending on what’s available at a given campsite, she’ll either grill directly over the fire pit or cook in a cast-iron pan on a portable stove. But it’s her trick for taking hot dogs on a hike or picnic that really changed the game for me: “If you boil the dogs first and place them in boiling water in a heatproof bottle or thermos, they’ll stay hot for four to six hours,” she says. When you stop for lunch, clean the dogs, put them in buns, and you have a hot meal right there on the way. Fabulous.
“Every hot dog is a sausage,” says Sadeghin, “but not every sausage is a hot dog.” Even within the hot dog category, the options are remarkably diverse. The following guide doesn’t cover the breadth of different hot dog styles available throughout America, but it does give a sense of just how much variety is available to fill your grill and fuel your outdoor adventures this summer. Don’t ask which hot dog is the best; Be excited about what style you try next.
Sausage
What is known as A? Frankfurter Wurstchen Lightly smoked pork sausages in sheep casings – made in the city of Frankfurt – have protected geographical status in Germany. We use the name Frankfurter much more loosely in the States. These days, most American frankfurters are entirely beef sausage, with or without a casing. (There are exceptions. See under “Footlong” below.)
Classic example: Sabrette Skinless Beef Frankfurters
I love a snappy dog, and the Bronx-produced Sabretooth series includes an excellent all-beef frankfurter with a highly snappy natural casing: the iconic New York street cart dog. But Sabretooth vice president Mark Rosen confirmed that this skinless dog is the company’s biggest seller, and if you’re not interested in a snappy coat, who am I to judge? These have the rich beefy flavor and hickory smoke for which sabretooth dogs are widely loved, with a more tender bite.
Wiener
what they say a Wiener Wurstchen In Germany—or, confusingly, a Frankfurter Wurstelle In Austria – very close to what is commonly called Wiener Stateside: a mixture of pork and beef in a casing made from sheep intestine, finely chopped to a smooth texture. The American version may include any or several of the original’s bright and hot spices, including paprika, coriander, white pepper and ginger.
Classic example: Smith’s Natural Wrap Wiener
Made in Erie, Pennsylvania, by a business operating since 1927, this old-school pork and beef wiener has my kind of lamb casing. Unlike many hot dogs on supermarket shelves, these do not have a strong smoke flavor; They are cooked over naturally hardwood for a smoother smoke that makes all the difference. The company ships nationwide, but you should also always look for wieners made close to where you live. Hot dogs are a hyper-regional food, and that’s a big part of their appeal.
kosher
All-beef kosher hot dogs, prepared under strict supervision and guaranteed to be free of mysterious pig parts, have long been a popular choice even among those who don’t keep kosher. Those who prefer a skinless dog will appreciate that kosher dogs come without the sheep and hog casings that other hot dogs have.
Classic example: A&H Kosher Beef Hot Dogs
Unlike some hot dogs that are labeled kosher, this brand is officially glatt kosher, which is a strict certification. Even if it’s not relevant to your own dietary practices, the all-beef dogs from New Jersey-based manufacturer Abels & Hayman are on another level. Smoker. Beefier. Strong enough to hold up beautifully on the grill.
veggie
Hot dogs are about welcoming everyone to the table, and plant-based options are more abundant than ever, available in any grocery store. For me, success or failure in this category depends largely on texture. No matter what it’s made of, I want the herbivorous dog to have some resistance when I bite.
Classic example: Field Roast Classic Smoked Plant-Based Frankfurters
Seitan, made from wheat gluten, is my plant-based protein of choice, offering a satisfying chew and the ability to soak up flavor like a champ. This is the basis of this toothsome vegetarian dog and is why I prefer it a bit more than Field Roast’s classic signature Stadium Dog, which is largely based on pea protein. If you want something more thin, smooth and juicy, choose the latter. I think it’s hard to overcook a hearty classic smoked frankfurter, and its meaty texture stands up remarkably well to the tsunami of spices that I like to eat with a veggie dog.
white hot
Around Rochester, New York, this homey cousin of the German weisswurst is a local icon. A mixture of pork, beef and veal, uncooked and unsmoked, it is a unique, nuanced dog, often served with the region’s typical spicy meat sauce, as well as mustard and chopped onions.
Classic example: Zweigel’s White Pop Open
You can buy Rochester-based Zweigel’s brand at any Wegmans store, or order directly from the company. The “pop open” style works similarly to a hog casing character on a grill. Zweigel also offers skinless whites, as well as something they call Texas Red Hots, another variety altogether (see below). Any one of these hot dogs is like a secret handshake between the Illuminati and the spread of next-level grilling.
red hot
Red Hot is the yin to White Hot’s yang; The variety of varieties across the country really warrants a classification in itself. In Chicago, what they call a Red Hot is as red as any hot dog treated with nitrate or nitrite. Elsewhere, things get much more vivid. In North Carolina and Maine, a bold dose of dye turns hot dogs as red as the stripes on Old Glory.
Classic example: WA Bean & Sons “Red Snapper” Franks
This Maine favorite, a pork-beef mixture in a natural casing, is perhaps the reddest of America’s red hots and certainly the spiciest. Founded in 1860, Bangor-based WA Bean & Sons produces franks with color and curvature straight out of a cartoon. This style seems to me to be the pinnacle of hot-dog-ness, which means: fun. (If you’re not interested in fun — that is, can’t deal with red — WA Bean offers Maine Snapper without it.)
long legs
To me, Footlong is Manifest Destiny applied to a hot dog: Since you’re going there, why not go all the way? Elias Cairo, co-founder and head sausage maker of Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon, has his own take: “I believe a frankfurter should stick out of the bun, so everyone gets at least one or two pieces of unadulterated sausage on each side. It’s just a sausage maker that wants people to enjoy the sausage for the sausage’s sake. Then you can put whatever stuff you want on top, making it your own Yes. But wait a moment.”
Classic example: Olympia Serves Uncured Pork Frankfurters
It should be clear by now that I am against the concept of the “best” hot dog. That doesn’t mean I can’t declare my personal favorite, and it’s Olympia Provisions Uncured Pork Frankfurters. This footlong is pork in a natural lamb shell – a Frankfurter in the European style – made with freshly ground coriander and smoked over a hardwood blend for a broad but balanced smoky flavor. “Uncured” in this case means that Cairo uses no artificial nitrates or nitrites; Curing occurs through naturally occurring nitrates in celery powder.
Like Sadeghin, Cairo associates the hot dog as integral to outdoor life. A former professional snowboarder, he apprenticed in Switzerland under a JägermeisterOr master hunter. (You may know Cairo outside video series game showWhere he shares his no-waste approach to harvesting and cooking the wild game he hunts.) Although he takes his meat seriously and has strong beliefs about the right way to make a frankfurter, Cairo has never met a hot dog he doesn’t like. “I like mustard and raw onion in my frankfurters, but if I’m at a gas station on a road trip and buying one from a roller, it’s ketchup, mustard, green relish. Eating it makes me feel like it’s the best.”
