What the heck is a hot dog anyway?
A hot dog, also known as a frankfurter or weiner, is food . . . a sausage prepared from seasoned ground meat stuffed into a casing.Hot dogs are ubiquitous . . . in fact, the weiner is the single most-popular sausage item and accounts for 30 percent of total sausage consumption.
Meat processed as sausage has gained wide acceptance in the United States . . . Americans eat an average of about 25 lbs. of sausage per person each year.
Sausages are classified by processing method:
- cooked and smoked such as the frankfurter and bologna
- cooked such as braunschweiger and beer salami
- fresh such as Italian sausage and fresh pork sausage
- fresh smoked such as mettwurst and country style pork
- dry and semidry such as hard salami, pepperoni and summer sausage
Sausages vary as to:
- the kind and amount of meat used
- the fineness of chopping or grinding
- the seasonings or spices used
- the processing method, whether smoked or cooked or both, or dried
- the casing used, such as treated animal intestines, cellulose, or synthetic material (yuk!)
Binders or extenders, such as cereals, usually are added. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has questioned whether the use of sodium nitrite and other chemicals, added to preserve and color, is healthful.
Just a wee bit of history . . . at one time, fresh meat that could not be consumed immediately was turned into sausage as a means of preserving it. Today, preserving meat that way has brought us 200 or more types of sausages which provide an opportunity for a variety in your diet more than a means of meat preservation.
Now, let's get back to Stadium Mustard, Tony Packo Hot Dog Sauce, catsup and bun