Hot Dog

A Global HistoryBy Bruce Kraig

REAKTION BOOKS

Copyright © 2009Bruce Kraig
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-86189-427-4

Contents

Preface..............................................7Introduction: What is a Hot Dog?.....................71 Hot Dog History....................................162 How Hot Dogs are Made..............................453 How Hot Dogs are Sold..............................574 Hot Dog Culture....................................755 Hot Dogs Around the World..........................96The Hot Dog Factory..................................115Recipes..............................................116References...........................................125Select Bibliography..................................132Websites and Associations............................136Acknowledgements.....................................138Photo Acknowledgements...............................140Index................................................141

Introduction

What is a Hot Dog?

A hot dog belongs to the ancient family of encased foods. But unlike stuffed vegetables such as peppers or aubergines, dolmas, enchiladas or the Mexican mixiotes, for example, the hot dog is a product encased in animal gut, or an artificial facsimile. Among the sub-families of such foods are all-meat products (some with non-meat additives), hybrid meat and grain combinations (such as haggis or East European kishka) and a special group of more recent 'hot dog' creations based on the likes of fish or vegetable proteins, usually textured soy products, wheat gluten or even fungi. Of the latter, imitation of shape alone makes them part of the greater 'stuffed' taxon, much like the recently evolved 'skinless', or formerly encased, products.

The original hot dog is one of the clan of processed meats, more specifically a sausage, and of a certain size (bologna is certainly a sausage that is never confused with a hot dog, no matter how close the ingredients). As for meats, the primal hot dog is made from red meat - if pork and veal are included in that group. Poultry is a late addition, officially designated a meat by the US Department of Agriculture in 1996, and was not included in older definitions of 'meat' in the same way that fish was not. The hot dog species of sausage might be defined as an 'emulsified', or very finely chopped or ground meat product. As a further subspecies, the hot dog is a precooked sausage. In its truly defined state, the hot dog is meant to be eaten out of the hand encased in a bun (though other baked products can and are sometimes used). In this sense, the hot dog crosses food categories and becomes one of America's singular foods, a sandwich. Few hot dogs are consumed ungarnished, except perhaps by squeamish children or health-conscious diners.

The American hot dog began life among European immigrants in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its direct origins are among several types of German sausages handmade by individual butchers. To this day, the names of two types are used interchangeably with hot dogs: frankfurters (alias 'franks') and wieners (or 'weenies'), though the Thuringer might also be a hot dog model. Some other sausage traditions bear influence on the hot dog. Among An ideal hot dog with onions, relish and decorative mustard. these are Anglo-American pork sausages, sometimes called 'hot links', French boudins, especially in French-speaking areas of North America such as New Orleans and Quebec, 'Polish' sausages, still one of the variations served at hot dog stands, and 'Italian' sausages, also regularly eaten in a bun. Although they share a common tubular morphology, most of these vary from the hot dog in texture, flavour and processing: many are uncooked, for example. What distinguishes the hot dog from its more distant relatives mentioned here is its fine texture which, in turn, is due to processing technologies developed during the nineteenth century. It also has a cultural and social history all its own.

What is in a hot dog depends on the group and specific type; like domestic canines, there are many variations and each descends from more generic ancestors. The most common are pork, or pork and poultry mixtures, sold in retail packs in supermarkets and as food service items in mass public venues. They are soft-textured, skinless and often marketed to children. Examples include such national brands as Oscar Mayer, Ballpark, Armour and many regional copies.

The other main group have been called 'adult' hot dogs by the companies that make them. Most are all-beef, either gut-encased or skinless, with more texture and more complex flavour profiles. Though some have national distribution due to acquisition by large food corporations - notably Hebrew National and Nathan's - most of these hot dogs remain ensconced in the culture of cities through such companies as Vienna Beef, Sabrett, Boar's Head, Pearl, Farmer John All-Beef Premium and others.

An older but less popular type is made from animal parts not usually thought fit for human consumption. Often labelled 'hot links' or, as one notable brand has it, 'Hillbilly Franks'. These contain items such as cheeks, lips, lungs, glands, fillers and red dye.

Just as plants and animals have been subjected to genetic manipulation by the injection of genes from other species, the hot dog has been modified. So popular have cheese toppings for these sausages become that companies have invented dogs filled with dairy product. Americans love melted cheese on everything, hence the popularity of Velveeta cheese (a cheese product sold by Kraft Foods since 1927) which acts like a thick gravy. The new products are injected with a soft cheese product filling, some with additional flavouring such as jalapeo peppers, so as to retain the hot dog's status as a hand-held food, avoiding messy toppings. In this iteration, the sausage has become the casing.

The composition of the dominant hot dog styles around the world is as follows: in its mass-produced commercial form, the hot dog is made with finely chopped meat, usually pork or a pork-poultry mixture - a kind of meat slurry called an 'emulsion' or 'batter' - and is either skinless or has a natural casing made of gut or collagen. It has by law a maximum 30 per cent fat and is often seasoned with spices, paprika (for colouring) or red (cayenne) pepper, sometimes sugar but more often corn syrup, black pepper, somewhere between 1.75 and 2.25 per cent salt and sodium nitrite. Legally, the hot dog is permitted some percentage of filler, normally non-fat dried milk but also powdered bonemeal. The resulting product is smoked with hickory, the usual wood flavouring of choice, or, often, artificial liquid smoke. These elements are subject to variations according to manufacturer and precise flavourings are closely guarded company secrets. Nonetheless, in terms of taste, most would be hard pressed to tell the differences between the major brands of hot dogs. The main sensory impression one gets from eating a hot dog plain is juiciness carried by the fat and water (roughly 50 per cent of the sausage), salt and perhaps some subtle hints of the seasonings, depending on the kind of product it is. In the better hot dog, flavour and tactile senses are inextricably combined.

'Cooking', or rather heating, methods for hot dogs also vary, often by group. For example, Chicago's all-beef hot dogs are best bathed in hot water, New York's all-beef natural-casing dogs flat grilled, while the mostly pork products are often roller-grilled. Other sausage types served at hot dog restaurants, usually coarse-textured Polish or very large all-beef versions sometimes called 'knockwurst', can be grilled over open flames or a flat grill. One type of hot dog, found mainly in New Jersey, is deep fried. Outside the restaurant environment, hot dog cookery varies widely, from microwaving to grilling on open flames outdoors. Except for the hot water-bathed hot dog, all are really re-cooked to achieve a certain texture and flavour. What is considered to be a 'real' hot dog varies from place to place, according to cooking/ heating methods and individual tastes, the latter mainly coming from childhood experiences.

The hot dog is a cultural icon. It is associated with happy public events, families and children. It is one of the symbols by which Americans have identified themselves and to some extent still do. Or, as a poet might have said, 'A hot dog, is a hot dog, is a hot dog, and American.'

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