Are hot dogs really made from pigs’ snouts and unused meat scraps? Contrary to popular belief, hot dogs are not made from left-over meat laying around on the floors of meat-packing houses. Whether it is pork or beef that is stuffed into a hot dog, the meat trimmings are carefully selected just like the meat you buy in your grocer’s coolers.

Most recipes for hot dogs combine together a tasty blend of favorite meats (pork, beef, chicken, or turkey), meat fat, a cereal filler which could be either bread crumbs, flour, or oatmeal, a little bit of egg white, and a mouth-watering array of herbs and seasonings including garlic, pepper, ground mustard, nutmeg, salt, and onion. Common hot dog ingredients include Meat trimmings and fat Flavorings, such as salt, garlic, and paprika Preservatives (cure) – typically sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite. Pork and beef are the traditional meats used in hot dogs. Less expensive hot dogs are often made from chicken or turkey, using low cost mechanically separated poultry. Hot dogs often have high sodium, fat and nitrite content, ingredients linked to health problems. Changes in meat technology and dietary preferences have led manufacturers to use turkey, chicken, vegetarian meat substitutes, and to lower the salt content.

If a manufacturer produces two types of hot dogs, “wieners” tend to contain pork and are blander, while “franks” tend to be all beef and more strongly seasoned.

Once these ingredients are grinded together, the stuffing is squeezed into sausage casings. Many of the hot dogs sold in stores are enclosed in synthetic cellulose casings, but most home-made hot dogs are made out of natural animal intestines. 

Following the stuffing process is the pre-cooking cycle in which the hot dog links are tossed into boiling water for approximately 15 minutes. Finally, the dogs are packaged, loaded on delivery trucks, and sent off to food markets.

Hot dogs are popular among Americans because they are easy to make, inexpensive, and delicious. Hot dogs can be prepared in a number of great ways–nuke-em, grill-em, sauté-em, roast-em, fry-em or boil-em.

What is your favorite type of hot dog? – a chili dog, a cheese dog, or a foot-long dog? A multitude of toppings can enhance the flavor of your hot dog. Common toppings used on hot dogs include ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, chili, cheese, and sauerkraut.

Hot dog lingo. Hot dogs are also called franks, frankfurter, weiner, mini sausages, ball parks, and dachshund.

Did you know?

July is National Hot Dog Month

The Council estimates that over seven billion hot dogs will be eaten by Americans between Memorial Day and Labor Day. During the July 4th weekend alone (the biggest hot-dog holiday of the year), 155 million will be downed.
An average American eats 60 hot dogs a year
In 1893, hot dogs became the standard cuisine for baseball games.
Controversial debate surrounds the creation of the hot dog. Who really created the first hot dog? Although the city of Frankfurt, Germany credits itself for the origin of the first frankfurter in 1852, some argue that Johann Georghehner, a butcher from Coburg, Germany created the first frankfurter in the 1600s.

Resources

http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/hotdog.asp
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hotdog1.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-National-Hot-Dog-Month

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