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The History of the
Hot Dog

This is a huge topic that is red hot....as in ....."Get your Red Hots"

A great story that has controversy, and fighting, creation out of necessity. Fighting over the rights. The Hot Dog is truly a food that has woven it's way into U.S. culture and I feel is here to stay. There are even low fat versions that have become very popular

Just the story of how it accidentally got named hot dog is fun

There is so much information on this topic that I will be adding to this all the time.

 

Yes there was a time that these were called Dachshund sausages that is part of it.

More pictures of Dogs as Hot Dogs


 

The name ....how did a sausage get to be a dog?

a Butchermeister in Frankfurt, Germany get's credit for this unusual kind of find ground pink colored thin sausage that was not accepted well in Germany, so he went to Vienna, Austria. When they became more and more popular, Frankfurt wanted it back! They wanted to copyright the name Frankfurters. Vienna is spelled and pronounced Wein in Austria, so they were also called Wieners.
Who won? Well they both were trumped by accident almost when in the states it evolved to Hot Dogs!

 

 

The First Hot dog eating contest was held on.......July 5, 1916

excerpt from Danielle Schneider

94 years ago on July 5, an argument broke out between four immigrants. The men had been eating hot dogs at the recently opened hot dog stand,   Nathan's Famous   on Coney Island .

 

The stand's owner, Nathan Handwerker, had listened as each one had bragged that   he   was the most American of the four. Nathan feared that the men would get into a brawl. He wanted his brand new stand to remain intact. Quickly, he suggested a hot dog eating contest. Whoever ate the most hot dogs would be declared the most patriotic. Nathan also hoped that the contest would attract more customers.

The men agreed. Nathan placed large plates of hot dogs, buns included, before them. The contestants shoveled in the food at top speed. James Mullen, an Irish immigrant, inhaled 13 hot dogs in 12 minutes (just over one hot dog per minute). He won the contest (and had a colossal stomachache). Nathan stated that a hot dog eating contest would be held at his stand each year.

I am going to hand this story off to a great writer and storyteller named
cheeseburger brown.

Go here for more history of the hot dog

So is the hot dog really made with mystery meat ?

Let's take a look at the back of the package. In America all food producers are required to reasonably list the ingredients that went into the manufacture of their meal without giving away their recipe. Starting with the ingredient with the largest amount, descending to the least amount.

An urban legend that they use all kinds of strange meats or by products in their hot dogs and just add flavoring is not true. Not in the major brands that tastes good! It is not easy to make a good wiener.

This is an excerpt from the Food Safety and Inspection service, from the USDA website.

" The standard also requires that they be comminuted (reduced to minute particles), semisolid products made from one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle from livestock (like beef or pork), and may contain poultry meat."

The key phrase is raw skeletal meat. ..eyeballs and livers don't fall under that definition.

Here is the rest of the Hot Dogs and Food Safety article.

If it DOES have some of the liver and gizzards, it has to SAY it in the ingredients.

Some Choices other than Pork or chicken

You can of course go the tofu dog route but these 97% beef franks are a good go even for a dog lover like me. Once you get the toppings on there you still get a wonderful hot dog experience.

How Do You Say Hot Dog In..?

Spanish - Perrito Caliente

Italian - Caldo Cane

French - Chien Chaud

German - Heisser Hund, or Wurst

Portugese - Cachorro Quente

Swedish - Korv, or Varmkorv

Norweigan and Danish - Grillpolser

Czech - Park v Rohliku

Dutch - Worstjes

Finnish - Makkarat

 

 

This is one of my favorite
Food History Cookbooks

 




 

My Favorite Food History Book



Weber 7416 Rapidfire Chimney Starter

Sturdy construction, generous capacity, heat-resistant handle, and second handle for pouring control. With the most ventilation holes in its canister, coals ignited quickly.

Recommended by Cooking Illustrated

 

Plastic basting bottles with brush heads eliminate messy dripping between your bowl of barbecue sauce and the grill. Just fill the bottle, screw on the brush head, and squeeze to release sauce onto the brush. We tried out four bottles, basting grilled chicken. Brushes with soft silicone bristles gently distributed sauce, while stiffer bristles tore and even removed delicate chicken skin. We also preferred long-necked bottles, which kept our hands far from the heat.

Charcoal Companion 13.75-Ounce
Silicone Head Sauce Basting Bottle
 

Recommended by Cooking Illustrated

 

 

Charcoal Companion 17-Inch Flame Resistant Black BBQ or Oven Mitt

a barbecue mitt must meet two core requirements: enough heat resistance to keep hands from burning and enough pliability to keep cooks from inadvertently dropping grill grates or smashing food  

Recommended by Cooking Illustrated

 

Polder 12453 Stainless Steel Dual Oven Thermometer

ability to simultaneously check the food and oven temperatures, and bargain price. On the grill, a heatproof silicone finger-grip under the dial allows you to take the thermometer out of the lid vents and check the temperature of the meat.

Recommended by Cooking Illustrated  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Recomended Books
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