Rhett & Link Pick Their Favorite Hot Dogs

Who needs a bun or condiments when you can eat a hot dog with nothing but a little gumption and your bare hands? That’s how Rhett & Link set out to find the “Tippity Tippity Top Dog” you can buy at the grocery store.

On the January 16, 2017, episode of Good Mythical Morning, Rhett & Link put eight brands of hot dogs through head-to-head (er, wiener-to-wiener) blind taste tests: Hebrew National, Ballpark, Applegate, Vienna Beef (shout out, Chicago peeps), Oscar Mayer, Nathan’s, Kirkland, and Snake River Farms, a purveyor of fancy Wagyu beef dogs. The guys couldn’t come to a consensus, so two dogs ended up sharing the tippity top spot: a Rhett dog and a Link dog. Two dogs are always better than one. (For even more hot dogs, check out the Sporked ranking too.)

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Rhett’s Pick: Snake River Farms American Wagyu Hot Dogs

Buy from Snake River Farms

Rhett was a fan of these 1 lb. monster hot dogs from first bite (especially when they were pitted against Applegate, which Rhett described as “the worst tasting hot dog I’ve ever had”). Link couldn’t get past the little twisty nubbin at the ends of the dogs: “That reminds me how they were made,” he said. “I don’t like that so much.” Undeterred by the nubbin, Rhett described this dog as “an achievement in hot dog making.”

Link’s Pick: Ball Park Beef Franks

Link seemed to be on the search for a classic, all-American dog (i.e. a dog without a nubbin), and found that in Ball Park franks. Since these down-home BBQ staples were pitted against Snake River Farms in the semi-final round, they actually didn’t make it to to the finals. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and Link bumped Nathan’s from the number two spot to crown these his favorites. “It’s got America injected into it,” Link said.

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.