A couple months ago I reported on the latest in the ongoing hot dog wars and linked to an article that mentioned Kraft's reformulation of the hot dog recipe for their industry-leading Oscar-Meyer franks. While not as bold a move as, say, taking the damn cheese off the Double Cheeseburger, a reformulation for the first time in two decades is certainly newsworthy.While grocery shopping this morning I was scanning the shelves for some good buys and spotted a 2 for $5 sale on packages of the Oscar-Meyer Premium Bun Length Beef Franks (which surprisingly ranked 15th in a recent hot dog taste test). With the package proclaiming the "Better Flavor!" I'd heard so much about I decided to give 'em a try.
As I've mentioned before, I've never been a huge fan of franks from Oscar-Meyer or Ballpark. My tastes generally lean towards Hebrew National (where I favor the Reduced Fat or 97% Fat Free blends) or, if I'm going all in, Nathan's with their spicy, meaty flavor. (Not surprisingly, these two both brands placed in the top 5 in the aforementioned taste test.)
I boiled some water and prepared my hot dogs in the preferred fashion (boil water, pop the dogs in, cover and cook for 5 minutes), then topped them with nothing more than Nathan's mustard as they nestled in an Arnold Premium Hot Dog Roll (also on sale... how thrifty of me).
Guess what? I couldn't tell you what an Oscar-Meyer Frank used to taste like, but if this is the new forulation I have to admit that I'm a fan. The all beef, no filler frank has a slightly spicy flavor not unlike Nathan's and there's a subtle smoky flavor that had me clamoring for more. Actually, that might've been the salt.
Unfortunately, they also pack a full 15 grams of fat per frank so after wolfing two down while feeding my daughter I'm a little sleepy. But that's the price you pay for a good old fashioned full fat frank.
RECESSION GOURMET FACTS: Oscar-Meyer Premium Bun Length Beef Franks ($2.50 for pkg of 8), Arnold Premium Hot Dog Rolls ($2 for pkg of 8), Nathan's Hot Dog Mustard (in the fridge).
1 comment:
I will have to respectfully disagree with you on the new Oscar Meyer Premium hot dogs. My whole family thinks they are terrible. The skin is really thick and tough compared with the "original" Oscar Meyer frank.
To make matters worse, I haven't been able to find the original ones for a few months now.
I can eat about any kind of hot dog. These were the first I have found that I didn't like. My wife and some others that have been on boat with us didn't care for the Hebrew National's.
Since the only kind of hot dog that my wife would eat was an original Beef Oscar Meyer. I guess we will have to stop eating hot dogs. Bummer, because it was a quick meal to grill up on the boat.
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