National Hot Dog Day! Review: Ball Park Park’s Finest Signature Seasoned Dogs

Today is National Hot Dog Day!

To the Fewd Snobs, this is a perfect day.  Hot dogs are sacred fewd for us.  A day dedicated to the greatness that is hot dogs makes us think this should be a national holiday!

In honor of the day, the Fewd Snobs have decided to review Ball Park Park’s Finest Signature Seasoned hot dogs!

The Park’s Finest line has been out for a while now.  We haven’t reviewed them yet, and National Hot Dog Day gave us an excuse.

Now, we can hear somebody thinking, “But Fewd Snobs, these dogs are too snobby for you!”

False!

Although these are a “higher-end” dog, what sets these apart is the quality.  They aren’t gimmicky.  They are still normal hot dogs.  So yes, they do fit what the Fewd Snobs see as fewd.

So we will start with the concept of the Park’s Finest line.  Park’s Finest, as you can see in the pic, feature the fact that there are no preservatives, no nitrates or nitrites added (which is a good thing for people who get migraines!), they are uncured, and they are seasoned for bold flavor.  The back of the package says that no by-products are added, no MSG is added (also good for a variety of reasons!), and there are no artificial flavors, colors, or fillers.  We see all this as a good thing.  These are good, 100% beef dogs.  There isn’t any crap added that sucks.  To us, what could be better than that?!

As mentioned, these aren’t gimmicky.  They aren’t “angus” dogs.  What the hell is an “angus” dog, anyway??  This isn’t steak, you people!  It’s a friggin’ hot dog!  This is why we like Park’s Finest, despite it being higher-end, so to speak.  All they really are is good quality, straight up beef dogs.

Here’s the bottom line, kids…hot dogs usually have a bunch of shit in them.  While we don’t mind that, it’s even better having a hot dog without shit in them.  Done, yes done!

And Ball Park isn’t pushing these to the snobby, health crowd.  The company is simply saying that these are a better quality dog.  We love it.

There are several different flavors of the Park’s Finest to choose from.  Check them all out here.

Our test flavor, the Signature Seasoned dog, is kind of the main flavor of Park’s Finest.

You can see the seasoning in the dogs.  The dogs are bun-length.  They aren’t very thick (HO HO!), but there is plenty to each dog.  We think you will be satisfied, and have no problem putting the hot dog in the bun (ok, ok, enough!).

The package gives directions for grilling, cooking on the stove, or microwaving.  We bypassed all of these.  A Fewd Snob favorite way of cooking dogs is to broil them.  This gives the grilled effect, but cooking time is less than 10 minutes.  And we don’t have to stand in 100 degree heat and sweat on our sausages (ok, I said enough already!)  Take from this what you will.  We recommend putting them on a sheet pan, broiling for a few minutes until they are sizzling, turn them for a few more minutes, and then you have this…

Denny and Herman agree, the Signature Seasoned dogs are excellent.

First, you will notice some snap when biting into them (depending on how you cook them, of course).  Even though these don’t really have a casing, there is a little snap.  We think this is a great start.

Now, on to the flavor.  The main point.  There is a nice, full beef flavor.  The flavor isn’t overwhelming, but it doesn’t taste too light, either.  There is a perfect balance.  The taste is real beef, because it is.  There isn’t a fake smoke taste, like some dogs.

The seasoning is equally excellent.  There is nice, steady seasoning to the dog.  Again, it isn’t overpowering.  We won’t name names, but we have tested some hot dogs that were so heavily flavored that it tasted like you took a mouthful of seasoning from a jar.  They were so bad, we didn’t even review them.  That isn’t the case here.  The seasoning is balanced; it is there, but it isn’t strong.  It is truly just right.  This allows the flavor of the beef to come through, also.  Nothing overpowers the other.  Yet, they certainly don’t taste like a plain beef hot dog.  Balance is the key, and Ball Park nailed it.  These truly are high-quality, great tasting hot dogs.

Now, on to the price.  The dogs come in a package of 7.  The price in our area is about $4 for the package.  At first glance, this may seem expensive.  It isn’t really expensive.  This isn’t the $1 package of dogs, people.  The quality more than makes up for the price.  The ONE and ONLY thing we don’t get is that they come in a package of 7.  Buns come in packages of 8.  We can’t figure this one out.  Put one more dog in it!  Charge a little extra.  But meh.  These dogs are so good, that we don’t care.  4 bucks for 7 it is!

It is National Hot Dog Day, and we recommend you go out and get some of these.  Ball Park already makes great dogs, and these are even better.  They are a perfect way to honor the sacred holiday that is National Hot Dog Day!