How I tasted

Each dog was simmered in water for 10 minutes, and left to rest at room temp for about one minute before I tasted them without a bun or condiments.

I tasted the franks in elimination rounds of five each flight. Then I tasted the 10 best in two flights of five in head-to-head competition. Then the top five went head-to-head.

In the first round, I simmered them in water. Then the top 10 were cooked on a clean gas grill. I chose simmering for the first round because I could control time and temp better and because the flavor of the frank is not masked by the cooking method as much as when grilled. Grilling changes the flavors more, extracting more spice flavors and creating Maillard reaction and carmelization flavors. Because I prefer grilled, this was my final determinant.

The cooking was handled by an assistant so I would not know which was which. She kept them straight by using a new chrome coated car key inserted into the end of each weiner. Each keyblank had a different head shape. Only my assistant knew which key corresponded to which brand. I tasted with friends to get their feedback and input but the final judgments were mine alone. I scored them on the following criteria:

Smell: Meatiness, spice, smoke, other
Texture: Casing, filling, juiciness, smoothness, tenderness, other
Taste: Sweet, salt, garlic, spice, heat, smoke, other
Aftertaste: Dominant flavor, persistence, other

Here is the 10 point hedonic scale I used for each of the above criteria:

0-4: Unpleasant
5: Neither pleasant nor unpleasant
6-7: Slightly pleasing
8-9: Very pleasing
10: Extremely pleasing
In addition I took notes on appearance and each of the criteria.

All the brands I tasted were purchased in groceries in the Chicagoland area with three exceptions. Because David Berg and Red Hot Chicago are sold only to restaurants, I contacted them and arranged to get them direct from the manufacturer. I ordered the Sabretts direct from their website. They arrived packed in ice, and well past their sell-by date. As the song goes, "ate it anyway, ate it anyway," and, boy was I glad I did.

For the fun of it, I purchased two "homemade" pups from local butchers. Joe and Franks' franks were among the best, and surprisingly, the hot dog from Bobak's, a sausage maker of great repute, ranked near the bottom.

Oh where oh where has
my Best Hot Dog gone?

When I first completed this tasting, my clear favorite was Best's Kosher. Alas, Best's has since been killed by it's corporate parent, Sara Lee, in February 2009. According to an AP report on Forbes.com, "Sara Lee also has been shedding businesses that don't fit into its strategy of focusing on categories where it is strong." According to multiple reports, the brand was profitable, just not profitable enough. To read more, check out my article from the Huffington Post on 2/17/2009.

Tell Meathead what you think, or ask him a question

But please, please, please read this first:

1) Please use the sitemap or the search box, at the top of every page. There's a good chance the answer is already on this site.

2) Please read this article about thermometers. Chances are your thermometer is the problem! I cannot help you troubleshoot unless you tell me that you are using a digital oven thermometer at meat level (not in the lid), and/or a digital meat thermometer. You simply cannot believe your grill's built-in bi-metal dial thermometer. They are often off by as much as 50°F!

3) Please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question.

4) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know on those pages. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than you could pick the right car for me. But I've explained everything you need to know to make your decision.