Although the food purists of this world, like Jamie Oliver, must cringe over their frying pans, it’s hard to beat hot dogs when you want a quick tea the kids won’t moan about. Stick them in a bun and serve with baked beans and you have quite a balanced meal ready in a trice (I know, cheese on wholemeal toast with an apple is a healthier option). We put seven of the tinned variety to the test
Princes Hot Dogs
I always thought this brand, which has a range of standard tinned items, was called princess, but no. The picture on the tin is inviting but it is somewhat short of the mark in describing what is inside. Although quite tasty and ready in a trice, the sausages inside are very thin and would get lost within a hot dog bun. As usual with these things, it’s best not to read the side of the tin, which scored points for its convenient ring pull.
Plumrose Giant Hot Dogs
I was expecting great things from the packaging although this is a brand I did not know. As the packet indicates, there are six large sausages inside, which is well and truly packed with product. No GM products or artificial colours and flavours are used, which could explain why I found the sausages a bit watery and tasteless. In further efforts to perhaps promote this as a slightly healthier (!) brand of hot dog there are recipe suggestions on the side of the can for a salad and a risotto. We had ours with fagee (lentils), which went down well.
Ye Olde Oak Premium Hot Dogs
Another can with a handy ring pull of eight thinner sausages. According to the packaging, these are the UK’s favourite hot dogs although I’m not sure how much I’d trust a company that puts an e on the end of old or has a character on the back called captain hot dog. Free from GM ingredients, artificial colours and flavours and a pleasant enough taste. Again the sausages are small and wouldn’t really suit the serving suggestion of being presented in a bun.
Boklunder American Hot Dogs
I had not come across this brand before but judging by the tin it must be the genuine, American product. One glance at the packaging and I was ready to break into the ‘Star Spangled Banner’. A convenient ring pull pulled back to reveal six long, although not fat, sausages. They gave off a pleasant smell but were one of only two to show fat globules floating in the brine. That said, they were a decent sausage that seems to be made up of three types of meat, although I’m not sure I’d go as far as the ‘premium taste’ suggested on the can. We are, after all, talking about tinned food.
Dany Chicken Vienna Sausages
The addition of the word Vienna on the tin, makes these sound like some sort of premium product. There are eight stumpy sausages in the pack, which have a higher meat content than many of the others. This makes them sturdier and they almost have a skin. The Vienna proves a bit misleading as these sausages – made only with chicken – are actually produced in Denmark. Still a tasty sausage.
Tulip Hot Dog Sausages
There are 10 sausages in this tin, which makes it seem like your money is going further as you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between one of these sausages and one from the makes with only eight in the can. Although Tulip is another of the big names in tinned meat, there is not much to set these sausages apart from other brands. The list of ingredients is a bit disconcerting, but maybe that’s because they are being more honest than other brands. Sausages went down well with the kids though.
Zwan Hot Dog Sausages
Zwan have got to be the leader in this field, they have a hot dog sausage to suit all occasions, from mini frankfurters to the larger sausages in a glass jar (my personal favourite). However for purposes of comparison we went for these, ten slim sausages in a tin that are actually made out of halal chicken (the Arabic writing on the tin would indicate these are actually aimed at the Middle East market). A passable sausage that was again ready in an instant, not the highest meat content though.
