Review: Turkey Hot Dogs

Tasty Turkey Hot Dogs

Let’s see if turkey hot dogs cut the mustard

Nothing says backyard cook out like a hot dog, yet do turkey hot dogs qualify? If we’re to believe the nutritional gurus, hot dogs are not the healthiest choice of grilled food. This news is a bit unsettling if you’re a big fan of hot dogs. This leaves hot dog lovers three choices. Ignore nutritional data and continue to eat them, stop eating them altogether or embrace turkey hot dogs. Maybe we should give the turkey hot dog a try.

Nutritionally speaking, a single serving of a turkey hot dog contains 70 calories, 5 grams of fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 4 grams of protein and 370 milligrams of sodium. Compare that to a traditional hot dog which contains 148 calories, 13 grams of fat, 24 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 grams of protein and 513 milligrams of sodium. It’s those sodium numbers that are disturbing.

The goal of this review is not to analyze a particular manufacturer’s product, but evaluate whether turkey hot dogs are a feasible alternative to standard hot dogs. Which one to choose. With such a wide selection to choose from, Jennie-O was selected since their turkeys have always treated me well at Thanksgiving.

Jennie-O Turkey Hot Dogs

The turkey dogs were judged without toppings nor bun. The criteria used for analysis was appearance, snap, taste, texture and juiciness.

Out of the package, the hot dogs would be impossible to distinguish from a regular hot dog. They had nice color with a very smooth casing. It had a good snap to it when broke in half. Let’s hope this snap holds up after grilling. That’s what we want to bite into

Grilled as you would a regular hot dog, the turkey dog grilled up better than most hot dogs. It’s casing held up exceptionally well. It wasn’t easily burned nor did it blister. A very forgiving hot dog, to say the least!

Drum roll please, as we enter the most crucial phase of this test. How did the turkey hot dog taste? The casing’s snap held up perfectly during grilling. The crunch you get when biting into a hot dog is cherished and the Jennie-O hot dog was perfect. The texture was very smooth and maintained the right amount of firmness. Juiciness was right where it should be. The taste was good. There wasn’t any overpowering flavors, just well balanced. Actually, the taste was very good. Once “dressed” with your favorite toppings, you’d be hard pressed determining that it was a turkey hot dog.

Fellow hot dog lovers, rejoice! Turkey hot dogs are indeed a great alternative to our traditional dogs. Pile on your preferred toppings and continue as usual. At least now you won’t feel as guilty while eating that fourth one.

A shout out to Jennie-O Turkey Store for their help in preparing this article. To learn more about turkey and find some great recipes, give them a visit at Jennie-O.