Who could ever turn down a classic hot dog?
At best, they're a staple of long, lazy summer days and at worst, they're suspicious tubes
of mystery meat in a casing you probably don't want to ask too many questions about.
"You know what they make those things out of, right Chet? You know?
Lips and A-------!"
Mystery meat aside, there are definitely some hot dogs that'll be a hit when they come off
any grill, and some you should probably avoid.
Let's talk hot dogs, and the ones you should and shouldn't pick up this summer.
"Bonzi!"
Should: Sabrett
Gluten-free hot dogs might seem like a bit of an odd thing to talk about, but for those
diagnosed with celiac disease, it's a huge deal.
When VeryWell Fit put gluten-free hot dogs under the spotlight, they found that they're
not all created equal.
According to the FDA, hot dogs can be labeled gluten-free if their gluten content is less
than 20 parts per million.
And that brings us to Sabrett.
They're one of the few hot dog manufacturers that have a gluten-free certification from
the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, and they go beyond what the FDA requires.
So if you're looking for something you can serve safely, Sabrett is it.
Should: Applegate Farms
In 2015, the World Health Organization's declared that processed meats were classified as a
group one carcinogen.
The official ruling is that problem meats are generally those that have been salted
and cured like most hot dogs and that's where Applegate Farms hot dogs come in.
Fox News named them as the best all-beef hot dogs you can buy, for a few reasons.
They're uncured, which means they don't have the things that are usually added to cured
meats to help with the preservation process.
They're also fairly low in sodium.
Well, for hot dogs at least.
They also go above and beyond industry when it comes to animal welfare, claiming that
they use only animals raised with no antibiotics, no crates, and plenty of space.
"That's me.
All natural."
Should: Boar's Head Lite
Obviously, hot dogs aren't a health food, but you should be able to eat a couple without
ruining your day or your diet, right?
One of the healthiest options is Boar's Head Lite Beef Frankfurters, a 90-calorie dog that
only contains 6 grams of fat.
That might not sound horribly healthy, but it's one of the best options you're going
to get for a stick of meat.
There's another bonus to these, too.
If the idea of that mechanically-separated meat makes you squirm a bit, Insider reports
that Boar's Head only uses whole-muscle meats.
That should make almost anyone feel better about serving up a platter of hot dogs.
Should: Trader Joe's Uncured Chicken Dogs
There's another super-healthy option buried among the many different kinds of hot dogs,
and it's made by Trader Joe's.
Their All Natural Uncured Chicken Hot Dogs were named the best chicken dog by Health,
and it's no wonder: They only contain 60 calories, 250 mg of sodium, and 2.5 grams of fat.
That's about as good as you're going to get with a hot dog.
Shouldn't: Ball Park
It's alright if you grew up on Ball Park franks.
They're a popular brand.
But you're an adult now and you know better, so let's look at just how bad these are for
you.
Berkeley Wellness listed them as one of the hot dogs you should definitely pass on, because
they're filled with fat and sodium.
That's just for the standard, regular-size dogs, so you can just imagine what you're
getting in the jumbo dogs.
Even their Lean dogs aren't incredibly friendly when it comes to sodium so maybe just skip
the old favorites and try something new.
Shouldn't: Oscar Mayer Turkey Dogs
These make the "bad" list not just because they're bad for you, but because they're masquerading
as being good.
You'll probably glance at them, think the lower-fat turkey hot dogs are a good idea,
and grab a pack.
But they're fairly high-calorie, and they're high in fat and sodium, too.
In other words, if a healthy grill option is the only thing on your mind, you're better
off looking elsewhere.
Oscar Mayer's Light Wieners get an honorable mention here, too.
Even though they boast that they contain less fat and calories than their heftier cousins,
they're still going to set your diet back with 6 grams of fat each.
Shouldn't: Vegetarian and kosher dogs
People have different reasons for becoming vegetarian, and if you think a vegetarian
hot dog is a good idea for any of your meat-free friends and family, there's a good chance
you're mistaken.
In 2015, Clear Food did a deep dive into just what's in a hot dog, and found that ten percent
of hot dogs labeled as vegetarian contained meat products of some sort.
The report didn't name the brands, instead suggesting that it's a widespread problem
across the industry.
Clear Food also found that many of the pork-free hot dogs still contained pork.
Worse, some of them were still labeled as kosher.
Shouldn't: Morning Star Corn Dogs
Who doesn't love a good deep fried corn dog?
Well, be careful what you get, because Morning Star's vegetarian corn dogs come with a whole
bunch of extras.
These clock in at 150 calories each, and they also have a pretty shocking 470 mg of sodium.
That's around a third of what you should be eating for the entire day, all on a single
stick.
There's another problem here, too.
Not only are they full of fillers, extenders, and ingredients designed to mimic the texture
of meat, they're so heavily processed those vegetarian ingredients aren't even recognizable
anymore.