Last Updated on May 11, 2017
There are hot dogs, and there are beef franks.
Both are fine, but there are differences. Hot dogs are made of a wild assortment of … stuff, from pork and chicken, to salt, preservatives, and other things. Beef franks also contain an assortment of ingredients, but they are fewer in number, and beef — rather than pork and chicken — is the base ingredient. The net effect of this is that hot dogs and and beef franks have subtle but significant differences in taste.
In general (but not absolutely), beef franks are considered the slightly superior food, and many ballparks will carry beef franks. It is not uncommon for people, in fact, to call them “ballpark franks.”
Now, Aldi carries all kinds of things, so you can certainly get your hot dog fix if you want to (and sometimes we do). For today, though, we decided to look into one of the Aldi beef frank options, the Parkview Beef Frank:
Parkviews — that has a nice ring to it — come in packs of eight and are in the refrigerated section, near their hot dog cousins. Like other beef franks, Parkview Beef Franks can be frozen or thawed, and in our experience the taste tends to be about the same, although cooking from frozen naturally takes a little bit longer.
The franks don’t contain any cooking instructions, which is not surprising since beef franks are generally pre-cooked. I don’t think anyone would argue against the idea that the very best way to cook a beef frank is over a grill, although those without grills can also boil them in hot water or microwave them if necessity dictates. Regardless of the method, the franks cook up in minutes.
And the Parkview Beef Franks are good. They are every bit the equal of their ballpark counterparts, with a great taste and texture. Pair these with nachos and cheese or Aldi steak fries and you’ve got a tremendously tasty — if not entirely healthy — meal.
Any drawbacks? Just one. The Parkviews run about $2.30 a pack at our local store. That’s a lot more than Aldi hot dogs, which can be had for $0.99 or less. Of course, the tradeoff is a superior taste (and for a lot less than a single actual frank at the ballpark), but if you’re cooking for a huge crowd you might think twice about buying a ton of these. On the other hand, if you’re trying to impress said crowd: go for it. They won’t know what hit them.
The Verdict:
Aldi has delivered the goods on a true ballpark frank here. They cook easily, taste awesome, and cost a lot less than what you’d pay at a real baseball game. If you don’t mind spending more than you would on an Aldi hot dog, this one is a winner. Highly recommended.
Just ate my first Parkview Beef frank or I should say half. Upon first taste the franks are on the Salty side. But my biggest complaint was the huge chunks of fat and bone I found. I don’t know if it was just the one dog or the entire package but I threw out the package out. Will not be buying these again
I thought the franks taste off the grill was OK but I do have an issue with the size. 4 1/4 inches long does not cut it for me. If you can’t make a hot dog or frank that fits a bun then you should stop making them.
Please return the entire product to Aldi for a. “Twice as Nice” refund. If you have your receipt, the refund will be returned in the original payment method.
As a kid, my uncle (the butcher) told me that the terms hot dog and frankfurter were used interchangeably. So they’re the same. As far as the Parkside franks, well, the skin burns rather than browns. One of the few ‘non natural casing’ franks that doesn’t burn black, is Nathan’s. And you can get an 8 pack of nathan’s franks at Aldi for $2.66, as opposed to over five dollars at the rest of the supermarkets, boy have they been ripping us off. So my recommendation, is Nathans. Still the best supermarket type frankfurter available (Used to be Nedicks, but they’re no longer distributed, also due to being marketed as a premium item instead of the ground up meat that it was). Pity the meat companies and supermarkets like to rip us off so much. If Aldi can sell nathans for half the price that the supermarket chains do, they must be really ripping us off. In fairness, the Parkside franks are tastier than most, and are more like what most Americans refer to as ‘smoked sausage’; so a better option is Aldi’s actual sausage, especially the ones with cheese, for $1.99 for the same size package.
I agree with this assessment.
Does Joshua work for ALDI, why such a contrast in reviews?
I don’t work for Aldi and we are not affiliated with them in any way. We spend time with products (which we buy with our own money) and write our thoughts on it. We’ve had Parkview Beef Franks many times, and this review reflects what we’ve found.
But I also know that people may have different experiences, and that’s why we have a comments section, so other people can chime in one way or another. On that note, if you have a different opinion, we’re always interested to hear it.
I tried these and didn’t really care fore them. I really like Nathan’s hot dogs. They had Nathan’s for only $.79 more so I wish I got those. I just didn’t care for the flavor and texture of the parkview beef dogs. They had a sort of vienna sausage vibe going.
WHERE CAN I GET THE JUMBO BEEF PARKVIEW HOTDOGS?
I HAVE BEEN TO FIVE ORLANDO STORES AND NOTHING…
ALSO HOW ABOUT THE CLANCEY LIGHTLY SALTED WAVY CHIPS?
SEEMS ALDI TEASES US THEN DROPS GREAT ITEMS-FRANK
They are way too salty! Returning them!
Best tasting hot dogs ever and my husband is an expert. The texture, taste, and natural “uncured” ingredients make the difference. I don’t particularly like hot dogs, however this brand is in a league of its own for quality. I used to purchase Omaha Steaks dogs, but no more. Thanks Parkview!
I have been buying the Parkview Beef Franks rather than just Hot Dogs for several years. The increase in price over the Hot Dogs is worth the quality improvement. For the past 6 months, I have been buying the Parkview Uncured Beef Franks which is a step above in quality. However, for the past month or so, I have not seen the “Uncured” Parkview Beef Franks in any of the 3 ALDI stores in the area I have been shopping. Has ALDI dropped this particular item ? Does any one know where Parkview Uncured Beef Franks are sold ?
they really suck>>>>>???Worst hot dog in the world ????
Please return the entire product to Aldi for a. “Twice as Nice” refund. If you have your receipt, the refund will be returned in the original payment method.
I bought the Hawaiian flavored Parview hotdogs. I love them so much that I had to go back to my Aldi store and buy more packs. Honestly, after cooking them they are just so succulent. The browning on the skin is caramelization of the sugar (at least for my hotdogs since it is hawaiian flavored, one would assume it has sugar/pineapple syrup in in). I score them dogs before placing them in a pan with half inch water (just like the instructions on the pack says) and cover until water has disappeared, then i add a bit of oil to help them brown up evenly. Tastes soooo delicious!
I had a blind taste testing at my House. I had a friend that says he will only eat Nathan’s hot digs. So I left the Nathan’s hot dog wrapper on the counter but put Parkview franks on the grill he two before I asked if he liked the hot dogs. He said they were great and the I siloed the news. He was surprised. He has changed his brand to Parkview Hot dogs and loves the price tag too.
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN ALDI-ORLANDO CARRIED 1/4 lb PARKVIEWS!
SO SAD,TOO BAD, AS SOONASYOU LOVE THEM—THEY’RE GONE!
BOOOOOOOOOOOO
The packaging says “collagen casings”. It does not say “beef collagen casing”. Do they have a pork casing? There is nothing to indicate if it is kosher, so I am wondering about the casing.
could be either pork or beef or other likely beef though for beef products if they used pork or others it would be listed in the ingredients
Me and my family loved the parkview beef franks, bought only twice at Aldi, went back the third time to buy more and they did not have them. Don’t know what happened to the franks wish they would return back to Aldi.
Like the chicken and pork Parkview franks from Aldi. But bought a package of 24 today and in repackaging for the freezer were only 23! Hope this is just a fluke.
I noticed the 10 pack of hot dogs now only have 8 in a pack and still charge the same price. The package is not sealed tight because it only has 8 hot dogs.
That is WRONG to charge the same price for less in a pack. THIS IS HOW THEY RIP PEOPLE OFF. 😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠
Hot dogs come in different sizes . 6S ,8s ,and 10s per lb. Although many companies have changed to a 15oz pakaage
HOT DOGS ARE RATED 10 TO 1—TEN PER POUND, 8 TO 1 OR TIGHT TO A POUMD, OR 4 TO 1 THUSLY YOUR QUARTER POIUNDER.
Many Co. are now switching to 15 oz packages Hot Dogs are sold in 10, 8, 6,and 4 per per lb (Knockwurst)
My husband said they r so bland no matter what he put on them to dence . Will not buy again.
I bought the Parkview uncured beef franks at Aldi. The package has in big yellow letters, no nitrites. But in the ingredients they list sodium nitrite. Was this an error in labeling or ingredients? These were the best franks I’ve had in quite a long time….love them!! But the price is $3.49 for 8 franks!! Clearly expensive. Why the price difference?
They were $ 2.99 in December. Every product in every store has gone up.
I thought these were really good. Put them on the grill. Pretty good. Nitrate free!!
I work for the Child Nutrition Program and our providers purchase these Parkview hotdogs. To continue to purchase these they need a Product Formulation Statement or CN label. Do these exist with this product? If so how do i obtain these documents. Thank you in advance!
You’ll need to contact Aldi about that: https://www.aldi.us/en/contact/
I had been buying the 14 oz package of 6 Parkview franks and loved them, but my Aldi stopped selling them over the summer and now only have the wimpy little 8 packs. The taste is the same (great – I saute them in a frying pan. Grilling would be best but takes too long for 1 dog, and boiling is sacrilege). But I want a decent sized product.
Aldi has a specials section that you expect to rotate, but they keep getting rid of the good products in the rest of the store too. They no longer have the Loven Aldi brand potato rolls either, at least in my store.
I’ve eaten these hot dogs for years, but no more. Last two packs I cooked shrunk to half their original size. A standard piece of bread will be half full. Last time the wife made me a sandwich she used 1 and 1/2 dogs. Aldi, your losing me.