HOTTY DOG FOR DINNER....?! (Tesco Meat Free Hot Dog Sausages)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	Tesco Meat Free Hot Dog Sausages
Date:	27/07/09 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: DELICIOUS, REASONABLE VALUE

Disadvantages: SEE REVIEW

I could never be described as the world's biggest carnivore, and in fact I was vegetarian for about ten years.

Because of this, I am used to eating meat-free alternatives a lot of the time when it comes to preparing a snack or evening meal. I regularly buy vege-mince instead of beef or lamb - really just because I prefer the taste - and I do regularly buy 'Quorn' and other products instead of buying chicken.

It was whilst I was looking in the freezer compartments in my local Tesco supermarket, looking for some frozen bits and pieces, that my eye happened upon the packet of Tesco-own branded 'Meat Free hot dog sausages'. Having tried these in the past, but not for a year or two now, I remembered that I had enjoyed them in the past and with that, I opted to buy them on this occasion too.

The packaging is quite simple and plain - a green-coloured bag, with the Tesco logo on the top and the name of the product underneath. The package informs me that the 300g bag contains 10 hot dogs which seemed quite reasonable, given that the bag of hot dogs cost under £2.

The hot dogs are very easy to cook and very quick. I find that both of these points make them a very convenient item to keep in my freezer. They cook in just a few minutes - either in the microwave or on the hob.

I always cook them on the hob, which takes around three minutes. The hot dogs simply require to be plonked into a pot of boiling water and after a minute or so, you can adjust the heat and basically just leave them there, simmering away nicely. After testing one with a fork to make sure it is cooked all the way through (which they always are) I drain them on some kitchen paper and voila! Easy peasy!

What I couldn't believe though (and I had actually forgotten about this from when I have cooked these in the past) is the amount of grease or oil that comes from these hot dogs as they are being cooked! The pan of water is literally like an oil slick once we have finished cooking our hot dogs and I have to say that it is quite off putting to look at.

I also found that the sausages were very greasy to the touch, when removing them from the packaging. The package too got very greasy - so much so that after I had opened it and returned the remainder of the bag to the freezer, I had to re-wrap it using some freezer bags as I didn't particularly want hot dog-grease to get over other items in my freezer. Yuck!

Anyway apart from that little grumble I absolutely loved these! They were every bit as good as I remembered them being and my partner loved them too. He most certainly could never be described as the world's biggest fan of vegetarian food, but he loved these and actually commented on how he would have had a difficult time guessing that these hot dogs were a meat-free version if I hadn't told him so beforehand. This is quite unusual for him to be fair and he can usually detect straight away if I have used a vegetarian alternative like mince or sausages in a meal.

The texture of the hot dogs I have found to be on a par with those 'American' tinned hot dogs my mum used to buy - quite smooth when eating it! Also the taste is basically the same as any 'meat' hot dogs that I have had recently - a slightly smoked taste and really quite delicious!

The nutritional information on the reverse of the packaging informs me that 100g of these hot dogs will provide me with 225 calories and 15g of fat. There is also information on the packaging that tells me that these hot dogs are of course suitable for a vegetarian diet.

I would definitely recommend these, even if you are not a particular fan of vegetarian food - you really would be hard pushed to tell the difference! I am going to deduct one star because of the grease I mentioned earlier - I really did find it to be quite off-putting. Apart from that though, both my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed them and we will buy them again.

Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - A DELICIOUS SNACK!