Hot dog

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A hot dog is a type of fully-cooked, cured and/or smoked moist sausage of soft, even, texture and flavor. It is usually placed hot in a soft, sliced bun of approximately the same length as the sausage, and optionally garnished with condiments and toppings.

The flavor of hot dog sausages varies widely by region and by personal preference, as do the toppings. The flavor of the sausage can resemble a range of similar meat products from bologna on the bland side to the German bockwurst in the spicier varieties.

Hot dogs are traditionally made from beef, pork, or a combination. Kosher hot dogs are also available, usually all-beef. Unlike many other sausages (which may be sold cooked or uncooked), hot dogs are always cooked before being offered commercially. Unless they have spoiled, hot dogs may be eaten safely without further cooking, although they are usually warmed before serving. Vegetarian hot dogs and sausages, made from meat analogue, are also widely available in most areas where hot dogs are popular.

Hot dogs are also called frankfurters, or franks for short, named for the city of Frankfurt, Germany where sausages in a bun originated, similar to hot dogs, but made exclusively of pork. Another term for hot dogs is wieners or weenies, referring to the city of Vienna, Austria, whose German name is "Wien", home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef. Hot dogs are sometimes derisively called tube steaks.^[1] In Australia, the term frankfurt is used rather than frankfurter. In the German speaking countries, except Austria, hot dog sausages are generally called Wiener or Wiener Würstchen (Würstchen means "little sausage"). In Swiss German, it is called Wienerli, while in Austria the terms Frankfurter or Frankfurter Würstel are used.

In the United Kingdom the term hot dog refers to the combination of sausage and bun, with the terms frankfurter or 'hot dog sausage' being more common terms for the sausage itself. As such hot dogs are sometimes made with British sausages, typically cooked by grilling or frying. When prepared using a frankfurter they may be sold and marketed as German or American-style hot dogs.

Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 3 General description 3.1 Ingredients 3.1.1 Condiments 3.2 Commercial Preparation 3.2.1 Natural Casing Hot Dogs 3.2.2 Skinless Hot Dogs 3.3 Final Preparation 4 Hot Dogs In The United States 5 Hot dogs kinds and variations 6 Competitions 7 In popular media 8 Festivals 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

History

Claims of invention of the hot dog are difficult to assess, because various stories assert the creation of the sausage, the placing of the sausage (or another kind of sausage) on bread or a bun as finger food, the popularization of the existing dish, or the application of the name "hot dog" to a sausage and bun combination.

The city of Vienna traces the lineage of the hot dog to the wienerwurst or Viennese sausage, the city of Frankfurt to the frankfurter wurst, which it claims was invented in the 1480s; the hot dog has also been attributed to Johann Georghehner, a 17th century butcher from the Bavarian city of Coburg who is said to have invented the "dachshund" or "little-dog" sausage and brought it to Frankfurt.^[2]

Around 1870, on Coney Island, a German immigrant named Charles Feltman began selling sausages in rolls.^[3][4][5]

Others also have been acknowledged for supposedly having invented the hot dog, including Anton Ludwig Feuchtwanger, a Bavarian sausage seller who is said to have started serving sausages in rolls at the World's Fair—either the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago or the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St Louis^[6]—because the white gloves he gave to customers so that they could eat his hot sausages in comfort began to disappear as souvenirs.^[7]

The association between hot dogs and baseball may have begun as early as 1893 with Chris von der Ahe, a German immigrant who owned not only the St. Louis Browns, but also an amusement park, beer garden and brewery near Sportsman's Park, where he sold his beer.^[8]

In 1916, an employee of Feltman's named Nathan Handwerker was encouraged by celebrity clients Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with his former employer.^[9] Handwerker undercut Feltman's by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging ten.^[9] At a time when food regulation was in its infancy, and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker made sure that men wearing surgeon's smocks were seen eating at Nathan's Famous to reassure potential customers.^[7]

Etymology

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since at least 1884 ('A sausage-maker...is continually dunning us for a motto. The following, we hope, will suit him to a hair: "Love me, love my dog."') and accusations that sausage-makers used dog meat date to at least 1845 ("Dogs...they retails the latter, tails and all, as sassenger meat.")^[10]

According to a popular myth, the use of the complete phrase "hot dog" in reference to sausage was coined by the newspaper cartoonist Thomas Aloysius "TAD" Dorgan around 1900 in a cartoon recording the sale of hot dogs during a New York Giants baseball game at the Polo Grounds.^[10] However, TAD's earliest usage of "hot dog" was not in reference to a baseball game at the Polo Grounds, but to a bicycle race at Madison Square Garden, in the The New York Evening Journal [December 12, 1906], by which time the term "hot dog" in reference to sausage was already in use.^[11][10] In addition, no copy of the apocryphal cartoon has ever been found.^[12]

The earliest usage of "hot dog" in clear reference to sausage found by Barry Popik appeared in the 28 September 1893 edition of The Knoxville Journal.^[11]

It was so cool last night that the appearance of overcoats was common, and stoves and grates were again brought into comfortable use. Even the weinerwurst men began preparing to get the "hot dogs" ready for sale Saturday night.

—28 September 1893, Knoxville (TN) Journal, "The [sic] Wore Overcoats," pg. 5

Another early use of the complete phrase "hot dog" in reference to sausage appeared on page 4 of the October 19, 1895 issue of The Yale Record: "they contentedly munched hot dogs during the whole service."^[11]

General description

A hot dog is typically distinguishable from other sausages by its smaller size and relative lack of spicing. A regular hot dog of the kind popular at sporting events, and readily available in supermarkets, is roughly 6-in (15-cm) long, although thickness and length can vary. There are many nationally-distributed brands that provide similar products to all geographical areas, but many local brands survive due to wide variations in regional hot dog preferences. For example, 12-in (30-cm) "footlong" hot dogs are popular in some regions.

Ingredients

There is no fixed specification for hot dog meat, with pork and beef being the most popular ingredients. Less expensive hot dogs typically contain some pork, but are primarily chicken, due to the low cost and availability of mechanically separated chicken. Hot dogs are generally regarded as unhealthy insofar as most have high sodium, fat and nitrate content. In recent years, due to changing dietary preferences in the U.S., manufacturers have turned to turkey, chicken, or vegetarian meat substitutes, and have begun lowering salt content.

In general, if a manufacturer produces two types of hot dog sausages, "wieners" tend to contain pork and are the blander of the two, while "franks" tend to be all beef and more-strongly seasoned. This is particularly true of Oscar Mayer products.

Condiments

Throughout the world, there are numerous variations in hot dog condiments. The most common are mustard, ketchup, chili, sauerkraut, cole slaw, pickle relish and chopped onion^{[citation needed]}. Others include mayonnaise, chopped lettuce, tomato (chopped, sliced, or in wedges), pickle spear, celery salt, cheese, avocado, canned corn, deep-fried potato sticks, and chili peppers, baked beans, and usually served in a bun.

In the United States, the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council conducted a poll in 2005, which found mustard to be the most popular condiment (32 percent). "Twenty-three percent of Americans said they preferred ketchup. [...] Chili came in third at 17 percent, followed by relish (9 percent) and onions (7 percent). Southerners showed the strongest preference for Chili, while Midwesterners showed the greatest affinity for ketchup. Nationwide, however, mustard prevailed."^[13]

Some Americans believe that a properly made hot dog should never be topped with ketchup, since it overpowers and destroys the taste of the hot dog instead of complementing it.^[14] In Chicago, some restaurants and hot dog stands that consider themselves to be "true" Chicago hot dog grills do not, as a rule, carry ketchup in stock, even if they serve other food items that use this condiment, such as French fries. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, in its tongue-in-cheek recommendations for proper Hot Dog Etiquette capitulate only slightly to the public's general regard for ketchup, saying, "Don't use ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18."

The Coney Island hot dog, which is topped with a special "Coney sauce" (generally a beanless chili), also is a favorite in the US Midwest. Several restaurants in Michigan claim to have invented the Coney dog, which is virtually unknown in Coney Island, New York. It is known in parts of Upstate New York and Québec simply as a "Michigan," and the name stuck to many fast-food meals (namely poutine) that were served with the sauce (although it evolved in Québec more into a meat spaghetti sauce than a chili).

Commercial Preparation

Hot dogs are typically prepared commercially by mixing all of the ingredients (meats, spices, binders and fillers, if any) in large vats where rapidly moving blades grind and mix the ingredients in the same operation, ensuring a homogeneous product. This mixture is then forced through tubes into casings for cooking. Most hot dogs sold in the US are called "skinless" as opposed to more expensive "natural casing" hot dogs.

Natural Casing Hot Dogs

As with virtually all sausages, hot dogs must be in a casing to be cooked. Traditionally, this casing is made from the thoroughly cleaned small intestines of sheep, and the products are known as "natural casing" hot dogs or frankfurters.^[15] These kinds of hot dogs are preferred by some for their firmer texture and the "snap" that releases juices and flavor when the product is bitten.^[15]

Kosher natural casings are difficult to obtain in commercial quantities in the USA, and therefore kosher hot dogs are usually either skinless or made with artificial collagen casings.^[15]

Skinless Hot Dogs

"Skinless" hot dogs also must use a casing in the cooking process when the product is manufactured, but here the casing is usually a long tube of thin cooking plastic that is completely removed between cooking and packaging. Skinless hot dogs vary in the texture of the product surface but have a softer "bite" than natural casing hot dogs. Skinless hot dogs are more uniform in shape and size than natural casing hot dogs and less expensive to produce.^{[citation needed]}

Final Preparation

For a full list of regional differences in hot dog preparation and condiments, see Hot dog variations.

Hot dogs may be grilled, steamed, boiled, barbecued, pan fried, deep fried, broiled, or microwaved. Some cooks prefer to boil their hot dogs in beer.^[16] While hot dogs are always cooked before packaging, they should not be eaten cold from the package. Hot dogs and their packaging fluid are sometimes contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, which causes listeriosis, a serious foodborne illness.^[17]

Hot Dogs In The United States

7-Eleven is North America's number-one retailer of fresh-grilled hot dogs, selling approximately 100 million each year.^[18][19] Other chains in the U.S. that offer hot dogs include Sonic Drive-In and Dog n Suds, who call it a coney; Hardee's (but not their counterpart Carl's Jr. on the west coast of the United States, which is ironic due to founder Carl Karcher having started the Carl's Jr. empire with a hot dog stand); Dairy Queen; 7-Eleven; Wienerschnitzel (originally Der Wienerschnitzel), whose menu focuses on hot dogs; The Frankfurter in Seattle, Washington; Woody's Chicago Style; Nathan's Famous, which sponsors the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest; A&W; and Spike's Junkyard Dogs located in Rhode Island and Boston. Krystal restaurants in the southeast offer a small hot dog called a Krystal Pup, and Fatburger, located mostly on the west coast of the U.S., offers hot dogs and chili dogs. In Cincinnati, Ohio Skyline Chili and Gold Star Chili sell hot dogs and spaghetti with their signature Cincinnati-style chili. .

Yocco's Hot Dogs, founded in 1922, maintains six restaurants in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania and is known for its long-standing specialty of hot dogs with various toppings. Given Yocco's strong global popularity, the restaurant also has a mail-order business, providing bags of frozen hot dogs to customers around the U.S. and the world. A map of the world displayed in each of the company's six restaurants marks the thousands of locations that have ordered Yocco's hot dogs.

Casual dining restaurants often have hot dogs on their children's menu, but not on the regular menu. Hot dog stands and trucks sell hot dogs and accompaniments, as well as similar products, at street and highway locations. At convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, hot dogs are usually kept heated on rotating grills; a selection of flavors and sizes is sometimes offered.

• Pink's Hot Dogs is another famous independent stand and is located in Hollywood, California.
• The Varsity in Atlanta, Georgia is a famous venue for hot dogs.
• Superdawg in Chicago, Illinois is a local tourist attraction which still features carhops.
• Walter's Hot Dog in Mamaroneck, New York, is one of the nation's oldest independent roadside stands.

Hot dogs sold by vendors who wander through the stands are a tradition at baseball parks. Several ballparks have signature hot dogs such as Fenway Franks at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Fenway signature is that the hot dog is boiled and grilled Fenway-style, and then served on a New England-style bun, covered with mustard and relish. Often during Red Sox games, vendors traverse the stadium selling the hot dogs plain, giving customers the choice of adding the condiments.

Hot dogs kinds and variations

Main articles: Hot dog variations and Vegetarian hot dog

Competitions

Hot dogs are used in many competitions, including eating competitions and attempts to create world record sized hot dogs. On July 4, 2007, Joey Chestnut set a new record when he ate 66 hotdogs in 12 minutes at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2007 event at Coney Island, breaking the previous record that he set on June 2, 2007 when he ate 59½ hotdogs in 12 minutes at a Nathan's qualifier event in Tempe, AZ. In Arizona, Chestnut had broken the record at the time of 53¾ by Takeru Kobayashi. ^[20]

The World's Longest Hot Dog created was 60m (196.85 ft), and rested within a 60.3m bun. The hot dog was prepared by Shizuoka Meat Producers for the All-Japan Bread Association, which baked the bun and coordinated the event, including official measurement for the world record. The hot dog and bun were the center of a media event in celebration of the Association's 50th anniversary on August 4, 2006, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel, Tokyo, Japan.^{[21][22][23][24]}

In popular media

Mickey Mouse's first spoken words were "Hot dog, hot dog."^[25]

The favorite food of Sonic the Hedgehog is a chilli dog.

The Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants basketball team is named after a hot dog.

Festivals

The city of Huntington, West Virginia, hosts the annual West Virginia Hot Dog Festival.^[26] Each year, at Suffolk Downs in Boston, Massachusetts, thousands of people come to the Hot Dog Safari to contribute money to help people with cystic fibrosis.^[27] A future festival possibility comes from a meat market owner in DuBois, Pennsylvania, who created a peanut butter hot dog recipe at the suggestion of the mother of a seven-year-old customer. The popularity of this invention spread via the Internet, and the town of DuBois is now discussing a "peanut butter hot dog" festival.^[28]

See also

• Sausage sandwich
• Mechanically separated meat
• Advanced meat recovery
• Chicago-style hot dog
• Corn dog
• Coney Island hot dog
• Dodger Dog
• Hot dog variations
• Cheese dog
• Sausage bun

Notes

References

• Immerso, Michael (2002), Coney Island: The People's Playground, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0813531381
• Jakle, John A. & Sculle, Keith A. (1999), Fast Food, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-6109-8
• Levine, Ed (2005-05-25), "It's All in How the Dog Is Served", The New York Times, <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/dining/25dogs.html>
• McCollough, J. Brady (2006-04-02), "Frankfurter, she wrote: Hot dog shrouded in mystery", The Kansas City Star, <http://www.coveringsports.com/hotdog.htm>
• McCullough, Edo [1957] (2000). Good Old Coney Island: A Sentimental Journey into the Past. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 0823219976. 
• Popik, Barry (2004-07-15). Hot Dog (Polo Grounds myth & original monograph). The Big Apple. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
• Schmidt, Gretchen (2003), German Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're German, New York: Citadel Press, ISBN 0806524812
• Sterngass, Jon (2001), First Resorts: Pursuing Pleasure at Saratoga Springs, Newport & Coney Island, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0801865867
• Wilton, David (2004), Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195172841

External links

• Hot dog history, legends and trivia
• National Hot Dog & Sausage Council
• Home page for a PBS documentary about hot dogs
• The Evolution of Hot Dogs
• USDA Fact Sheet focusing on Hot Dogs