Nathan's Famous Just Brought New Deluxe Hot Dogs To Sam's Club

Just in time for summer, Sam's Club, Walmart, Target, and other retailers have got a fancy new dog in them. Once only found at street carts in New York City in the mid-1800s, hot dogs are now on almost every grill in every yard across the U.S., with each region of the country developing its own unique style of tubed meat. This year, no matter what style of dog you grill, you can opt to use Nathan's Famous Grass-Fed Skinless Beef Franks.

How can a hot dog use elevated meat like grass-fed beef? We are so conditioned to avoid asking the question "what kind of meat is in a hot dog" because they were once commonly made with a mystery mix of cured meats encased in an animal's intestine. (Skinless dogs have no casing; they're formed in molds and peeled before they are shipped.) In the spirit of "any meat goes," why not use grass-fed? Keep in mind that grass-fed just means that at some point in the cow's lifecycle, it ate grass, not necessarily that it never ate grain.

These elevated hot dogs contain no preservatives. The most common hot dog preservative, nitrates and nitrites, are what usually give them their distinctive color and keep them from going bad. But, with research showing that consumption of nitrates and nitrites from meat or from the water supply leads to an increased risk of cancer, companies have been moving away from the preservative. Cherry powder, listed in the ingredients, likely accounts for the color.

A hot dog that is free of nitrates  isn't just meat and spices — they include some ingredients that keep them from going bad. Some of the safe additions include sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, and potassium lactate.

If you want to ensure your hot dogs are free of any additives, you can always make your own at home with a meat grinder. Make sure you don't use too lean a meat; you want an 80/20 ratio of meat to fat. Then, add whatever spices you like, and enjoy!