Summary:

Just tried the salmon hot dogs, and they weren’t bad at all. I would definitely eat them again. Flavor-wise, they basically just taste like generic supermarket hot dogs (with a very subtle fishiness depending on preparation, see below), and if you didn’t know before biting into one, you might not know they were made from salmon. That said, they are a little bit different from most dogs texturally, which I didn’t mind but might put off true “purists” I guess.

To go into more detail:

First, I forgot to pick up hot dog buns, so I just ate them with a fork. Honestly, for a taste test that’s probably better anyway, as I was focused solely on the experience of the hot dogs themselves. I had read a review online that suggested that cooking them with direct heat (grilling, pan frying, etc) resulted in a “fishier” taste than boiling or steaming them, so I decided to boil one and pan fry the other and compare.

Pan-frying:

I did this one first while waiting for the water to boil. Note that these are caseless franks - they are molded into shape and do not have any sort of casing on them. This is important because while the pan-fried salmon dogs do brown nicely, they won’t get that “snap” that you get with a casing. In the end, the texture was a little bit spongier than a typical dog, though not unpleasantly so especially with the browning along the outside. The flavor, as I said, is very typical of any supermarket hot dog, but there definitely is a slight salmon-y flavor that comes through. I’m not sure if you’d notice if you didn’t already know, though. You might notice something a little weird and not quite be able to place it. Anyway, I like salmon, so it didn’t bother me, but it’s important to note it. When I ate the dog with pickle relish (my condiment of choice), I couldn’t taste the salmon flavor at all. I think it’s just too subtle to stand up to any standard condiment.

Boiling:

No fishiness/salmon-y flavor AT ALL. Very interesting. I wonder if it’s because the frying/browning intensifies the flavor, or if the boiling water leaches it out. In any case, if you boil these dogs it goes away entirely. Unfortunately, for my taste the texture is notably less pleasant than with pan frying. There’s no browning, of course, so you don’t get any part of the hot dog firming up, and the end result is noticeably spongier than when pan fried. Almost, but not quite, like a fish cake that you might get in high quality hot pot or ramen.

Overall, I would eat these again. I prefer the pan fried version, as I think the texture is much better than with boiling. And the salmon flavor doesn’t bother me and is subtle enough to disappear under any condiments. So long as you don’t hate/aren’t allergic to salmon, I’d say give these a try. I haven’t compared the nutritional information to other hot dogs, but I imagine they are a bit healthier, and are a good substitute if you are avoiding pork or beef.