Hot Dog
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.
A hot dog is a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in a sliced bun as a sandwich. Hot dog variants include the corn dog dipped in corn batter and deep fried,
pigs in blankets wrapped in dough, baked, and served as hors d'oeuvres, and Beanie Weenies chopped and mixed with baked beans. Typical hot dog garnishes include mustard, ketchup,
onions, mayonnaise, relish, cheese,
chili, and sauerkraut.
The sausages were culturally imported from Germany and popularized in the United States, where they were a working class street food sold at hot dog stands that came to be associated with baseball and America. Hot dog preparation and condiment styles also vary regionally across the United States.
