Natural Casing vs Skinless

Hots dogs are available in natural casing and skinless. Natural casing dogs have that famous "snap" when you take a bite. We've always sold the skinless and are considering a switch to the natural casing dogs this spring. Which do you prefer?

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Originally posted by chicagostyledog

Hots dogs are available in natural casing and skinless. Natural casing dogs have that famous "snap" when you take a bite. We've always sold the skinless and are considering a switch to the natural casing dogs this spring. Which do you prefer?

I can only get skinless in my area. I would really prefer a choice between the two. If I had a choice, I would prefer natural casing.

I prefer natural casing 'dogs when grilling them. I prefer to split and grill them. But, if I'm dealing with hotdogs that are not grilled I prefer skinless.

Natural casings! it took along time to find them locally--skinless are ok but i love the "Snap"!

How do you prepare them ?

If they're grilled, natural casings is the way to go.

Steve,

We boil our dogs and our timing is impeccable since we sell a lot of product. The dogs are fresh, never frozen, and in the water long enough to reach temperature and float.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no comparison between skinless and natural casing. I much prefer natural casing. And although boiling/simmering/steaming is not my favorite way of heating a hot dog, I enjoy a tasty all beef dog with casing cooked this way.

If you have the luxury of preparing a dog at home as opposed to doing it at a place you own where you're doing 3 things at once and things can get hectic, you can't go wrong bringing a pot of water to a boil, turning off the heat, placing the dogs in, covering, and letting them steep from 7 to 10 minutes.

I do it this way when I want some dogs quick or am too lazy to grill. Some people prefer their dogs like this over grilling because the water heats the dogs, while keeping in the flavor and juices. And the casing definitely adds to the experience. Anyone who has ever had a small size (tighter casing) Sabrett from a hot dog cart or wagon knows what I'm talking about.

I'm kinda in between on this one, I love a good pan grilled natural casing dog, but on the bbq grill, I prefer skinless to absorb the smoke flavor better. I had some natural casing brats just the other night and steam/simmered them for a short time, then browned them with no liquid for extra snap..this really did the trick to firm the casing after being softened in the water. Upon extracting the brats, the kraut I tossed in the pan quickly drew up all the browned fat and flavor making for a great topping. Technique people....Technique!

This sounds like a great topic for an online poll. I will add it to the home page.

John Fox, that's how I prepare natural casing hot dogs myself--my preferred. Be sure the pan is off the flame when you add the dogs.

I think of skinless dogs as "kiddie dogs" but my partner loves them made the way my sister found in a women's magazine in the 1960s. Score (shallow cuts in a criss-cross pattern) the dogs, brown in a little oil, pour off the oil and add BBQ sauce and whatever fruit juice is available to allow for evaporation. Simmer, turning dogs in sauce, 5-15 minutes. I serve this with macaroni & cheese.

Sounds good! I think I'll try it soon. When I was a kid, I used to bother my mother to make me hot dogs all the time while I was watching baseball on tv. She got tired of it and told me to do it myself. I was 11 or 12 and didn't trust myself to cook anything. My mom got me one of those tin plates, heated the oven to 350, and threw the dogs in for 15-20 minutes. Easy for a kid, and the dogs turned out fine.

I'm of the belief that once you've had a natural casing dog, you can't call a skinless dog a hot dog anymore. It's like a drug.

I have a question, though. I'm thinking of opening a hot dog stand, but where I live there seem to be no local distributors who will deliver natural casing dogs fresh. I've heard that freezing these dogs might affect that distinctive snap, or the taste quality. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!

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Originally posted by smeltfisher

I'm of the belief that once you've had a natural casing dog, you can't call a skinless dog a hot dog anymore. It's like a drug.

I have a question, though. I'm thinking of opening a hot dog stand, but where I live there seem to be no local distributors who will deliver natural casing dogs fresh. I've heard that freezing these dogs might affect that distinctive snap, or the taste quality. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!

Any time you're selling a frozen hot dog(skinless or natural casing), always thaw the product before cooking. A refrigerated commercial hot dog has a shelf life of about two weeks. If the product is frozen, it extends the life for months. Once thawed, you're on the clock and there is no effect on the famous snap or taste. Our products are delivered fresh on Thursday or Friday and sold on Saturday and Sunday.

CSD

I like the 'snap' but would not turn down a skinless..........thanks John for the tip,I just bought a pack of Boars Head Franks and will cook them 'off the flame''

I must be one of the few. I prefer a skinless no matter how its cook. I think it stems from being a kid and always getting skinless dogs. The few times I was given a nc dog as a kid it grossed me out they were tough and was like eating plastic. Now don't get me wrong I won't turn down a nc dog or any hot dog..except the green ones at the local convenience store, but still prefer the skinless.

I am not sure how this enters into the equation but I have heard that when grilling natural casing dogs/sausage that dipping them in milk every so often when you grill them will add a crunch to the skin. This obviously doesn't apply to boiled dogs but if your frying or grilling it may come into play. Has anyone else heard of this or tried it?

I 've got to have skinless, sorry to say but the "Snap" of a hotdog makes me sick. My poor brain thinks..you are eating animal skin. that is disguisting!!

Does that mean you don't eat chicken or turkey unless it's been skinned?

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Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

Does that mean you don't eat chicken or turkey unless it's been skinned?

Indeed, sorry i didn't mean that eating chicken with skin on it was gross but just the thought period of eating "skin" . ..kind of a "Hannibal lector" thing

OK. I happen to like eating skin. Chicken skin, turkey skin, pheasant skin, dove skin, quail skin, grouse skin, duck skin, goose skin, ptarmigan skin, pork skin.

Don't forget the skin is made of hog or sheep intestines.

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Originally posted by markolenski

Don't forget the skin is made of hog or sheep intestines.

Some. Also used is collagen.

I'm a "natural" woman, myself

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Originally posted by redtressed

I'm a "natural" woman, myself

So I've heard.

Love that "pop" when you bite into the natural skin dogs. One of the things I've always enjoyed about red hots at Nick Tahoes. The white hots are skinless but have a different taste, so I always get one of each.

No contest. The "snap" is what makes it a treat!