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| YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Food > Frozen Goods > Howler Hotdogs - Gourmet Mini Cheesy Dogs | |
| ProdID: 6549 - Howler Hotdogs - Gourmet Mini Cheesy DogsProduced byGolden Goose Foods Ltd | Product Score: 8.8 |
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A better breed of hot dog - WITH CHEESE! It's one of the nation's everlasting on-the-go snack foods - and now the humble hot dog is getting a makeover. Howler Hotdogs brings a new breed of Kiwi hot dog in to the home in a handy, re-sealable pack with plenty of mini hot dogs to satisfy the meanest hunger, 16 of them to be exact. Forget sticky, fried batter and tasteless processed sausage meat. Howler Hotdogs fill the gap with a delicious beef sausage in a crispy batter that can be baked, not fried, and plated in 15 minutes. Great to have on hand for hungry kids or as a deliciously Kiwi party snack. Simple, just bake for 15mins in a standard oven, squirt, dip or drizzle the t-sauce... and your cocktail hot dogs are ready roll. |
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Hotdogs with cheese sounds like a real winner, but I have to say I couldn't really taste the cheese. I think I could see it, but there wasn't much difference between these and the regular dogs. Maybe more cheese, or trying a stronger cheese might help. Go the full-on gourmet and do the blue-vein stuff maybe. :D Great for game-time eating, these were easy to cook up between rounds of combat during a multi-player session tonight. A couple of minutes to turn the oven on and throw these in a pan with some of the plain dogs, combat, a quick break to give them a jiggle in the tray for an even cook, combat, a quick break to grab them out after 20 minutes - coz, you know the extra time was needed for the oven to get up to temp - and each one only took a few seconds to pick up off the plate, dip in sauce, and shove in my face while scoping out targets. Pop off an enemy, grab another dog. Awesome. These lose a point on visuals though because of weird bubbles and bulges that formed during cooking. I suppose it was probably something to do with the cheese, or air caught in the batter or something, but they looked a little less appealing for me. Still tasted damned good though! Raved about these to my team mates after the main combat was done, and we're organising a group meeting and shopping trip later in the week so we can stock up. I think I want a stack of these handy before BBQ season kicks in so there's something for the little kids at the family feeds. Don't let the price put you off, they are worth trying! |
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After having reviewed the Original Howler Hotdogs last month, I jumped at the chance to review the Cheesy Dogs when I saw these were still available in the review items to request this month. Our family love hot dogs, though these are most often only a treat food that we enjoy on the odd occasion when we order fish and chips or when we go to an event such as the speedway or sports match where there a food trucks selling deep fried hotdogs. These Cheesy Dogs come in a eye-catching, metallic like package made from strong plastic and have a convenient resealable snap lock. I decided to cook these up for an easy Friday night dinner tonight with a side of fries and BBQ sauce for dipping. I placed the hotdogs in my Tefal acti-fry along with the fries pressed the on button and set the timer for 10 minutes and left them to do there thing. 10 minutes later dinner was served. My first impression of the hot dogs were that the batter was crisp and golden, not soggy or gooey like you often get from a takeaway shop. When I bit into the hotdogs I noticed that the meat was actually real meat, not processed mush like you get in other hotdogs, such as the Shore Mariner mini hotdogs that have been sitting in my freezer for some time. The batter was the perfect texture and thickness and did not take over the taste of the sausage itself which I liked, even dunked in BBQ sauce the sausage was still flavorsome. In regards to the cheese I have to be honest, I could see little spots of cheese throughout the sausage but I couldn't really taste it, which was okay as the hotdogs still tasted great, but because of this I would probably only purchase the original dogs from now on so that I don't have to be disappointed about the lack of cheese taste. My daughter loved these and demolished her 2 hot dogs before her chips (normally her chips are the first to go). I would certainly buy these again, the price may seem a little steep, but if you compare it to that of chicken nuggets its roughly the same, I know whats going on the menu at Miss 2's birthday party next year HOWLER HOTDOGS there sure to be a hit with the kids and adults alike! |
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Finding a hotdog that is made from actual meat - and I mean quality beef and venison! - is as rare as finding gold in a river bed while you're out for a weekend hike. It's possible, and it's been done, but it is still rare. Most hotdogs I have encountered seem to be made from gristle, hair, sawdust and fat, waved past a senile cow to get some beef flavouring, then deep-fried until it's unrecognisable. Maybe I need to change which local takeaway I go to. Either way, these were a breath of fresh air for me, and my kids, who both loved them. And while the cheese is subtle, it was there and it enhanced the flavour, and that's what counts in the end, after all. Being "creative" with these was a little difficult - they aren't so much an ingredient as a finished food - but we tried to have some fun with them. Cooking up some cheesy mash, I also baked up the last dozen of these and jammed them head-first into the mash, which I had shaped into a volcanic island. A generous inland-sea of tomato sauce filled the crater, and we had fun excavating a howler, dipping it into the 'lava' for the first bite, then using the second bite of dog to scoop up some mash from around the base. Overall, these were the favourite of the two varieties, but only just. Even the extra 'fun factor' didn't bring them much ahead of the original variety, so since they are the same price I would put them as a dead-even runner for my family. My only regret about these was that I was so lost in sculpting it all, I totally forgot to snap off a photo. I may just have to buy these again so I can get that pic - it was worth it! Instead, I've linked the photo I took of the first batch I made, which has both varieties. |
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We (minus the children) were already sold on the original flavour mini hot dogs when we opened these. They came in the same easy to open freezer bag. They are the same free-flow product inside. The product is very easy to take out, measure portions out and to bake in the oven. We don't have a deep fat fryer but I imagine these would be amazing in one. I found that about 15 minutes in my gas oven was plenty to heat them through. I even turned them half way through baking, and noticed that they got a nice golden browning on the outside batter when I did so. Unfortunately because the kids hadn't really been sold on the original flavour, they were very difficult to talk into trying this. They did begrudgingly try them. One stuck to only eating the batter and seemed to like it. She said it was yummy. But she still wouldn't eat the sausage inside. The other kid did eat one, and said it was okay. But she has never been that fond of battered sausages, so it was a very hard sell and she wouldn't eat another one. We had guests over so I offered them some of these to try. They loved them and said they were really creamy and a great flavour. My husband said that they were superior to the original flavour and he would happily eat them on a weekly basis. I had to agree with my guests. These cheese flavoured mini hot dogs had a great creamy taste. They were delicious! As much as I enjoyed the original flavour as well, I think these sneak into first place for me. I will definitely consider purchasing these for our next big gathering. Bring on the summer BBQ weather. Price-wise, these are about the same as buying a bag of chicken nuggets so seem very reasonable to me. |
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Miss 6's eyes lit up when she saw I'd been given this packet of hotdogs to review as she always chooses hotdogs on the odd occasion we have fish and chips, or when she's presented with them on a kids menu. In fact these ones being mini, were actually very similar to what I've seen her order off kids menus, but with the exception of small cheesy bits in them, like you'd find in a sizzler sausage. The first time I served them up, it was to give Miss 6 something extra to her main meal as I'd cooked something for hubby and I that I knew she wouldn't be at all keen on. It was so quick and easy to cook up a couple as I had the oven on anyway and I actually popped an extra one in to cook so I could try it cold in her lunchbox the next day. The recommended serving size is 2 hotdogs but I have to say it seems very much a kid sized serving, but obviously you'd pad it out with a whole lot of extra filling stuff. Miss 6 really enjoyed her first taste of the hotdogs, but did comment it was hard to notice the cheese. I was pleasantly surprised to find Miss 6 really enjoyed the cold one in her lunchbox too - what a great easy idea for a treat now and then. The next time I served these up, I got to try one too. I was feeding 3 adults and 3 children as we had visitors to help test them out, but again we obviously padded them out with plenty of extra stuff. Miss 6 and her 2 friends seemed to really enjoy them but I did notice one of the children wasn't quite so keen on too much of the batter and ended up leaving some. Us adults happily ate them, but to be honest they weren't really a favourite - I see them as more something for the kids. One adult commented that the cheese seemed odd in a hotdog but there is a non cheese option, but I haven't tried it. I did like that they weren't too greasy though and I like that you could oven bake them (although a frying option is given on the instructions too). At this price they aren't cheap so I'm not sure this is something I'd personally buy unless it was a special treat. In fact they would be a great little party food and I'd certainly consider buying them again for that. But I can certainly report that they are nice enough without an overpowering flavour, so perfect for kids. |
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Howler Cheesy Dogs - I saw these come up for review and did not hesitate to request them! Hot finger food is GREAT in winter - not to mention we tend to enjoy hot dogs in this house. Initial thoughts - great packaging, eye catching, easy to open and with a zip lock seal for the ability to seal and safely return any uncooked cheesy dogs to the freezer without the need for additional packing. On opening the packet I was impressed with the quality of hot dogs that were before my eyes. Cooking times from frozen are average and I chose to oven bake a nice snack. Fool proof at best, and a very healthy option compared to deep frying. I was sceptical about the quality and crunch to this method and was pleasantly surprised. Great crunch and taste AMAZING with sauce - but don't let this statement fool you, they're great without sauce too. The cheesy part on the other hand - I could barely taste the presence of cheese. These hot dogs would be a full 10 out of 10 if they had pulled through with that cheesy goodness. All in all these hot dogs LOOK great, TASTE amazing, and can be oven baked. The price of these hot dogs is average at best, but not too expensive. These would be GREAT for children’s parties. |
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My girls (5 and 7 years) were excited to have Cheesy Dogs to review.The only other time they have had hotdogs is from the fish and chip shop. These a deep fired, soggy and covered in tomato sauce but obviously they have fond memories of them. Howler Hotdogs are designed to be cooked in the oven which makes them healthier and also takes away the soggy factor. My husband chose to cook these. He found them very convenient. He simply ripped open the packet and threw them in the roasting dish. They took the same time as the oven chips did. They simply slid out of the dish onto the plates. Not a single one got stuck so clean up was easy and each hotdog looked great. They were so easy and convenient. Both girls loved the hotdogs and begged to have the ones from our plate too. Everyone was surprised that they were called cheesy hotdogs. They didn't taste cheesy or have visible bits or cheese. They were however very nice.We tried them with different sauces: tomato, chilli and aioli. All were great with the hotdogs. He can't decide whether these are better than the original dogs. I think they are probably just as good. My girls have been asking for hotdogs everyday since but this isn't a cheap meal option. It is great for party food or when everyone is gathered around the the TV for the big game. I will be picking these up when I see them on special to keep in the freezer for convenience or bribery. |
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Hotdogs are something that I love eating but keep them as a treat food for our family. The times we would usually have them are when we get takeaways or if we are at a school fair or similar. Generally the hotdogs we get on these occasions have either too much batter or too much oil dripping off them. I recently had a small taste of these ones at a food tasting at New World in Te Rapa. That brief taste of them made me very keen to try them properly and to review them. Tonight is a particularly cold and rainy Friday evening and the whole family is exhausted. Our dinner plans had to change quickly as the meat we had out for dinner wasn't thawed in time. Enter the Howler Cheesy Dogs. They were sitting in our freezer, waiting for the right time to try them out. This was the perfect occasion. We popped some in the oven and heated them for 15 minutes (turning them at around seven minutes). We found that they weren't quite hot enough, so we put them in for another 5 minutes. Our oven often has issues with meeting the cooking time on packets, so I assume that is the reason for the difference in cooking time. When we got the Cheesy Dogs out of the oven, we noticed that they weren't too greasy looking, in fact the outsides looked relatively smooth and dry. When we bit into them, we found that a little bit of cheese oozed up through the sausage. I didn't think that there was very much but I do think that the cheese taste was noticeable and I think it added to the flavour. The batter looked nice and wasn't all lumpy like the ones from the fairs or takeaway shop. The size of the hotdogs was perfect for our family as the children could eat each one easily and get another one if they wished. This was much better than leaving half a large hotdog if they had had enough. I think that the batter and sausage was much better quality than the fast food alternative. Everyone in the family enjoyed dipping the sausages into some Watties tomato sauce - this is a must for this type of food in our house (probably the same for most Kiwis!). We have also tried the [link^6548^Original Dogs^link] in the same range. They are very similar, however, we did sway toward preferring the Cheesy ones. These hotdogs filled a gap in our dinner menu for tonight. This is how I would see them fitting into our eating habits. They would either be in the freezer for "just in case" meals or purchased for special events such as birthdays. |
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Compared to the original hotdogs, I am at a loss as to whether I say they're better or worse, or neither for that matter! The meat itself was really good, it had a really good flavour, it was far better than any of the types of hotdog they sell in places like football stands or fish and chip shops. In particular, it tasted like it contained REAL meat, not the scraps they put in normal sausages. In terms of the cheese, however, I have mixed feelings. It took me several tries to get the cooking time right, I eventually found that around 19 minutes cooking at 180 degrees in the oven was best, and this is far more than the 13-15 minutes the instructions suggest. When under-cooked, the cheese has next to no taste, but it leaves a powdery feeling on the roof of my mouth. When properly cooked, the cheese does enhance the flavour, and leaves none of the powdery feeling. Once I had gotten the cooking time right, I found that these were actually quite good. They are quite tiny, making them good snacks, and they would be awesome if I were to use them for having a movie night with friends - these mini-dogs would fit in well with popcorn, lollies, nachos, basically any movie snack. Overall, I would consider this to be an awesome product, I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. ^:) |
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| Printed at 01:03:27pm on Friday 01st November 2024 |
