• Write A Review
    • Print This Page
  • Hot Dog!
    Posted 2007-08-17
    Hot Dog! Local business still making wieners from family recipes. Osgood- The aroma of chili dogs fills the air as Gene Grisez dumps ground meat into a stainless steel machine that shoots our perfectly formed wieners 20 to a strand. Winner's Meats, a family owned business with a 79 year history, needs no special designation as National Hot Dog Month to spur sales of it's traditional and specialty products. "This is the greatest way to eat a chili cheese dog," owner Steve Winner says as Grisez hangs the newest strand on the cart bound for a three-hour visit to the smoker. "We add cheese and chili seasoning to our regular hot dog mixture so you can enjoy all the flavor without having to worry about toppings dropping onto your clothes." The business began making hot dogs 15 years ago after purchasing two machines that simplify the process. Many smaller meat processing plants simply cannot justify an investment. The family's tries-and-true recipe contains 75 percent pork, 25 percent beef and a blend of seasonings with no added fillers like chicken or turkey. The meat is ground, then run through an emulsifier to achieve a pudding-like consistency to eliminate the possibility of air pockets in the finished product. Grisez plucks a plastic tub containing 150 pounds of the ground mixture from a walk-in-cooler and heads toward the vacuum machine known as a linker. Perfectly formed hot dogs emerge one by one dressed in natural collagen casings and joined into a long strand. The machine twists the casing to assure each dog stays in place during the smoking process. "Years ago we tied them off with string," Winner says. "This simplifies the process and provides better portion control." The rack loaded with strands will spend three hours in the large stainless steel smoker gaining even more flavor from seasonal hardwood. The next step involves another vacuum machine that literally sucks off the casings and shoots out bun-length dogs in machine gun fashion.  What takes seconds to complete per strand would require five minutes or more by hand.  The plump dogs are then vacuum sealed 10 to a 1-pound package. Although the packages have a two-month shelf life, the business prefers to make smaller batches on a regular basis to ensure optimum freshness. "It's hard to find a good hot dog  these days," he says.  "It all depends on what you put inside.  Quality costs a little more so you won't find ours a s part of a buy one package get one free deal." Hot dogs currently sell for $2.69 a pound while a package containing the chili cheese variety goes for $3.19. Summer is definitely the busiest time of the year with production averaging 400 pounds a week.  The weekly output drops to 100 pounds when cold weather hits. "There is nothing better than a hot dog fresh from the grill." Winner says.  "Kids will reach for one before they reach for the choicest cut of steak." Winner's Meats has swept top hot dog honors four years in a row at competitions sponsored by the Ohio Association of Meat Processors.  Peers have threatened to call Winner "King Wienie" if he walks away with more trophies and metals. The business also makes other award-winning specialty items like selected cold cuts including summer sausage, bologna and German bologna.  Also on the list are smoked sausage with cheese, assorted snack sticks and brats that come in traditional flavors as well as pepper cheese, green onion, Italian, and Cajun. "We ship our products all over the country and that includes hot dogs," Winner says.  "People know a good hot dog when they taste one."
    Print

  • All Articles

    Title Abstract Pub. Date
    Local Meat Processor Wins National Award! 2007-07-19
    Hot Dog! 2007-08-17

  • Contact


    • Reload image
      Audio Captcha

  • newspaper Hours

    Monday8:30am - 5:00pm
    Tuesday8:30am - 5:00pm
    Wednesday8:30am - 5:00pm
    Thursday8:30am - 5:00pm
    Friday8:30am - 5:00pm
    Saturday -
    Sunday -

    Except Holidays

  • We Accept

© 2024 CoolerAds, LLC and Kaesu, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated Brands & Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.