Costco Hot Dog Review | The Blog

Today, we review the Costco hot dog. The Costco hot dog is a popular menu item at Costco Wholesale, a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse clubs. Currently, Costco ranks as the third-largest retailer in the world. The Costco hot dog is particularly famous because it is a large 1/4-pound hot dog that comes with an unlimited soda refill for just $1.50.

Costco has been offering its hot dog combination since 1984. It was first available on a hot dog cart before being moved to the Food Court. The price of the combo has remained unchanged at $1.50 since its introduction. Although adjusting for inflation would suggest that the combo should cost $4.40 today, Costco has kept the price constant. Initially, the hot dogs were kosher and made by Hebrew National, but now Costco produces its own hot dogs in its own factories.

The Construction

The Hot Dog is pretty much ordered as-is. You get the hot dog in a steamed bun.

• Hot Dog: 100% Beef
• Steamed Bun
• Yellow Mustard (Optionally Added)
• Diced Onions (Optionally Added)
• Length: 8 1/4 inches
• Weight: 7 ounces
• Location Purchased: Matthews, NC
• Price: $1.50
• Items Purchased: 2 (Separate Visits)

Ketchup and relish were available as options, but were not selected for this assessment.

The Experience

This is our first hot dog assessment, so we have established the following scoring parameters. The soda included with the $1.50 is not a part of this assessment.

• Hot Dog: 5.0 points
• Bun: 2.0 points
• Condiments: 1.0 point
• Intangibles: 2.0 points

One crucial point is that the hot dogs for this assessment were transported from the food court to the home review studio. We typically use heated bags to do this. Usually, the Costco hot dog is intended to be eaten at the food court. The mustard is applied via a dispenser at the food court. The onions come in a separate cup. This made it a little tricky to get aesthetic photos for this assessment.

Hot Dog

If you were to ask me about my ideal hot dog, I would say it should be grilled with a nice amount of char on the casing. However, that’s not the case with the Costco hot dog. The hot dog they serve is 100% beef and is prepared by boiling. Despite this, I found the hot dog enjoyable. It had a nice balance of smokiness and saltiness, although the boiling process does reduce some of the saltiness. While the casing didn’t have as much snap as I would prefer, it was still better than I expected. The hot dog was always cooked to the right temperature, and its taste was quite consistent. Although I reviewed two for this assessment, I’ve had Costco Food Court hot dogs many times before.

Score: 3.5 points out of 5.0 points

Bun

From what I have researched, the Costco buns differ from region to region. I’ve seen some with sesame buns, but the ones served in Matthews, North Carolina, are plain buns. The buns are served steamed. Usually, I prefer a lightly toasted bun for my hot dogs, but I was again surprised to find that I enjoyed the steamed bun. It’s a little lighter and airier than I prefer, but it still had good flavor.

Score: 1.25 points out of 2.0 points

Condiments

The two condiments used for this assessment are yellow mustard and onions. As mentioned above, the yellow mustard was applied via a dispenser. This is not a spicy mustard, but it had a decent vinegar component to it (which I like). This is still what I would say is an average mustard.

The diced onions were pretty average. They weren’t overly sweet, but neither were they overly pungent. As mentioned, these were made available in a separate cup available at the pick-up counter.

Score: 0.5 points out of 1 point

Intangibles

First, this is a large hot dog. Unless you are extremely hungry, a single hot dog will easily satisfy your appetite. Like most of the other food assessments I do, I look for the overall experience to exceed the sum of the parts. This is precisely the case with the Costco hot dog. Just the hot dog and the bun do this alone, and the additions of the mustard and onion don’t hurt here.

Although this isn’t factored into the score, transporting these hot dogs is indeed challenging. Instead of giving you a paper tray, they give you a brown bag. This will make transporting with the mustard and other condiments difficult. While I would ordinarily suggest using your own mustard if eating this hot dog at home, I wanted to evaluate the mustard that Costco offers.

Score: 1.50 points out of 2.00 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

The Costco hot dog combination is widely regarded as one of the best values at the store. Even if inflation raised its price to nearly $4.50, it would still be a worthwhile investment. The score of 6.75 points reflects its quality and does not even take the low price into account. Unless you visit a specialty hot dog place, it’s difficult to find a hot dog this good. Every time you visit Costco, the hot dog is definitely something you shouldn’t miss out on!

Summary

Score: 6.75 (out of 10 points)
Value: Above Average