Why Are Premium Hot Dog Brands More Expensive?

Premium hot dogs like Nathan's Famous, which are considered some of the best on the market, are more expensive than regular hot dogs because of the brand name and ingredient list. For example, Ball Park hot dogs are better advertised and marketed as a brand, and those costs are recouped in the price of the hot dogs. Still, the ingredients are the primary reason for the price hike. 

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, all hot dogs contain the same basic ingredients. These include meat (beef, chicken, and/or pork), an acid to speed up the curing process, a casing, sugar, water, flavorings, and salt, just to name a few. Other ingredients and combinations vary by manufacturer, product, and recipe. 

Premium hot dogs use a higher quality version of these ingredients. While regular hot dogs use a combination of chicken and pork cuts, which are cheaper meats, premium hot dogs are usually "all-beef" and come from premium cuts. A beef roast is more expensive than a whole chicken and even a pork roast, so a hot dog made with beef will be pricier. Take, for example, the hot dog brand Bar S. Its 100% beef franks are over $2 more than the classic franks made with chicken and pork. Additionally, the casings on regular hot dogs are likely collagen casings, while premium hot dogs use an intestine from a sheep or lamb. It's important to read the ingredients of all hot dogs to see what is truly in them.

A step above premium are gourmet hot dogs, made from scratch by chefs at high-end restaurants. These hot dogs are chemically cured with ingredients like Prague Powder, seasoned with high-quality spices, and cooked to the perfect doneness. They are then topped with luxury foods like caviar, lobster, or even gold leaf, which will surely make you feel like a million bucks, on freshly made buns. 

An example is the $300 hot dog that internet chef Joshua Weissman made for his Facebook audience. He chose beef cuts to grind together, then added a spice mix that included pink Prague Powder and sansho powder (a type of pepper). The mix was ground again with a hand grinder and ejected into sheep intestine casing. Weissman even baked bread buns and topped it all with two kinds of caviar, a king crab leg, and a few other gourmet food ingredients. 

The labor over this hot dog adds value, and the cost of the ingredients significantly increases the price compared to its grocery store counterparts. Premium hot dogs are not this extreme, but their higher price is driven in a similar way to how gourmet ingredients elevate the caviar-topped hot dog's price.