The American Hot Dog

[Originally posted on August 25, 2005]

The hot dog is one of those delights that has successfully resisted the attempt by corporate food to homogenize into dullness. Despite the overwhelming presence of those awful supermarket imitations produced under brand names such as Oscar Meyer, Ballpark, Farmland, etc, the essential good American 'frank' has endured. You can still get yummilious dogs just about anywhere; even in supermarkets. Our local markets not only carry local made versions which are far better than the corporate stuff but they also stock the better brands such as Hebrew National and Best's. Hey, even Hillshire Farms dogs are pretty darn good.

The plentiful supply of delicious dogs are so common that I have a difficult time understanding why parents buy the cheap fat & sodium laden crappy versions for their children to eat. Sure the better brand names are more expensive, but don't you think that the health of your children are worth it? If they only knew how they manufactured these so-called hot dogs, these folks never buy one again. I have know folks who have worked in meat processing plants where hot dogs were made. They won't touch the stuff. Does it tell you something that people who work in these plants never eat the stuff?

The hot dog has a long and glorious history. Sausage making goes as far back as the 9th century B.C. Sausages known as 'weiners', frankfurters', and 'dashshunds' have been around for centuries. It is a mystery who served up the first American hot dog but a likely claim rests with Charles Feltman, a German butcher, who, in 1867, opened up a hot dog stand in Coney island in Brooklyn, New York. He may have also added the bread bun to the hot dog. I'd like to believe that this was the first true hot dog simply because the best hot dog of my youth was from Nathan's in Coney Island. Hot dogs were sold at every deli in New York and were often called 'franks' but the Nathan's dogs were special. These all beef hot dogs used only the best beef. They were grilled and Nathan's offered free condiments with the hot dog. We usually piled on the saurkraut on these dogs after slobbering on mustard. At baseball games, vender's would hawk hot dogs as 'red hots'.

Hot dogs are good food as long as you are careful to buy only the best. All beef hot dogs are, in my opinion, the best, but dogs often are made with beef and pork combinations that are quite good. Of course, the pork dogs are not kosher. And let's not even think about turkey, chicken, or vegan hot dogs ... please. Avoid any dog that has soy or cereal filler or anything else added that is unpronounceable. Also avoid the high fat content sausages. If the dog has less than 4 grams of protein, avoid it. It is these 'filler' dogs that have given hot dogs a bad reputation and may give you stomach pains.

And that is my last word on my favorite link.