Hot dogs are a summertime staple, though you can find them available at your local grocery store any time of year. And depending on where you live, there are plenty of styles and ways to build the perfect dog. But before you add those hot dogs to your supermarket shopping list, consider buying them somewhere else: your local butcher shop.
Buying meat from your local butcher will often result in better quality meat with better flavor. Or, at the very least, the butcher will know a little more about the quality than a package at the grocery store will tell you. Butchers often source from local farms, so they’re aware of exactly how the meat got from the farm to your table. “Most supermarket hot dogs are packed with preservatives, which gives them a long shelf life, but that doesn’t mean they’ll taste fresh,” Eric Tanaka, chef and managing partner at TD & Co. restaurants, told Chowhound when asked about the worst hot dog mistakes. “The key to buying hot dogs is to go local. Seek out butchers or small producers who make fresh hot dogs from local meat sources.”
Buying from a butcher shop means you’re more informed
Supermarket meat isn’t necessarily poor quality; the quality comes down to both the supermarket and the butcher. Grocery store butchers can answer all of your questions and are well-informed about what’s available in the meat department. But local butchers often source meat from local farms, so they’re aware of exactly how and when the meat was slaughtered. This means they know more about the meat’s age, its diet, and other factors that determine high-quality meat. Plus, supporting your local butcher usually means supporting local farms, which boosts your community’s economy.
When made on a small scale without major commercial equipment, hot dogs are actually very difficult to make and therefore aren’t always easy to find. “Hot dogs are one of the most complicated sausages you can make,” Tanya Cauthen, owner of Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia, told Richmond Magazine. She added that her shop only makes them between four and six times per year, and that few butchers make them from scratch. The meat must be ground substantially more than that of traditional sausage — between two and four times, until it becomes a paste-like texture — then cased and rested before the hot dogs are cooked. So, if you happen to have a local butcher that makes hot dogs in-house, they’re almost certainly worth trying.
