The hot dogs made in Albert Lea and sold at Target Field now are available in the local grocery stores.

Schweigert hot dogs and other meats have long been available from Albert Lea grocers, but the new dogs made especially for the new home of the Minnesota Twins had been available only at the stadium.

Three of the four dogs are on shelves across Minnesota. They are the Original Twins Dog, described by Schweigert as “a Tenderbite hot dog made from the original Schweigert recipe served at the Twins first stadium in the 1960s,” the Twins Big Dog, “a juicy, generously sized, all-beef, quarter-pound hot dog which replaces the former Twins Dome Dog,” and the Twins Dugout Dog, “an old-fashioned, natural casing, coarse ground pork and beef hot dog.”

The fourth dog is the Diner Dog. It is an extra long pork and beef hot dog available only at Hennepin Grille locations around Target Field.

The two primary grocers for Albert Lea are Nelson’s Marketplace and Hy-Vee Foods. Both have the three kinds of hot dogs, which come in specially marked Twins packages, but they have been selling well. If you find the stores are out of the kind of dog you like, don’t worry. Meat managers at both stores said they intend to order more.

Schweigert is a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Cargill and produces the Twins line of hot dogs at its plant in Albert Lea.

“Nothing replaces seeing the Twins live, but this is a fun way to savor a bit of that authentic ball park flavor at home,” said David Barocco, vice president of sales and marketing for Cargill’s retail meats line.

Schweigert, Cargill, Minneapolis and Albert Lea had twisting roots before Cargill purchased Schweigert’s parent company in the spring of 2008. Schweigert Meats has its roots in Minneapolis, having moved to Albert Lea in 1983. Ray Schweigert opened his neighborhood store in North Minneapolis in 1937. And Minneapolis-based Cargill, founded in 1865, for a time was headquartered in Albert Lea. William Wallace Cargill’s family lived on Grove Street in the early 1870s and two of his daughters were born here.