English

Noun

frankfurters

1. Plural of frankfurter

A hot dog is a type of fully-cooked, cured and/or smoked moist sausage of soft, even, texture and flavor. It is usually placed hot in a soft, sliced Hot dog bun of approximately the same length as the sausage, and optionally garnished with condiments and toppings.

The flavor of hot dog sausages varies widely by region and by personal preference, as do the accompaniments. The flavor of the sausage can resemble a range of similar meat products from bologna on the bland side to the German bockwurst in the spicier varieties.

Hot dogs are traditionally made from beef, pork, or a combination. Kosher hot dogs are also available, usually all-beef. Unlike many other sausages (which may be sold cooked or uncooked), hot dogs are always cooked before being offered commercially. Unless they have spoiled, hot dogs may be eaten safely without further cooking, although they are usually warmed before serving. Vegetarian hot dogs and sausages, made from meat analogue, are also widely available in most areas where hot dogs are popular.

Hot dogs are also called frankfurters, or franks for short, named for the city of Frankfurt, Germany where sausages in a bun originated, similar to hot dogs, but made exclusively of pork. Another term for hot dogs is wieners or weenies, referring to the city of Vienna, Austria, whose German name is "Wien", home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef. Hot dogs are sometimes called tube steaks. In Australia, the term frankfurt is used rather than frankfurter. In the German speaking countries, except Austria, hot dog sausages are generally called Wiener or Wiener Würstchen (Würstchen means "little sausage"). In Swiss German, it is called Wienerli, while in Austria the terms Frankfurter or Frankfurter Würstel are used.

In the United Kingdom the term hot dog refers to the combination of sausage and bun, with the terms frankfurter or 'hot dog sausage' being more common terms for the sausage itself. As such hot dogs are sometimes made with British sausages, typically cooked by grilling or frying. When prepared using a frankfurter they may be sold and marketed as German or American-style hot dogs.

History

7-Eleven is North America's number-one retailer of fresh-grilled hot dogs, selling approximately 100 million each year. Other chains in the U.S. that offer hot dogs include Sonic Drive-In and Dog n Suds, who call it a coney; Hardee's (but not their counterpart Carl's Jr. on the west coast of the United States, which is ironic due to founder Carl Karcher having started the Carl's Jr. empire with a hot dog stand); Dairy Queen; 7-Eleven; Wienerschnitzel (originally Der Wienerschnitzel), whose menu focuses on hot dogs; The Frankfurter in Seattle, Washington; Woody's Chicago Style; Nathan's Famous, which sponsors the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest; A&W; and Spike's Junkyard Dogs located in Rhode Island and Boston. Krystal restaurants in the southeast offer a small hot dog called a Krystal Pup, and Fatburger, located mostly on the west coast of the U.S., offers hot dogs and chili dogs. In Cincinnati, Ohio Skyline Chili and Gold Star Chili sell hot dogs and spaghetti with their signature Cincinnati-style chili. .

Yocco's Hot Dogs, founded in 1922, maintains six restaurants in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania and is known for its long-standing specialty of hot dogs with various toppings. Given Yocco's strong global popularity, the restaurant also has a mail-order business, providing bags of frozen hot dogs to customers around the U.S. and the world. A map of the world displayed in each of the company's six restaurants marks the thousands of locations that have ordered Yocco's hot dogs.

Casual dining restaurants often have hot dogs on their children's menu, but not on the regular menu. Hot dog stands and trucks sell hot dogs and accompaniments, as well as similar products, at street and highway locations. At convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, hot dogs are usually kept heated on rotating grills; a selection of flavors and sizes is sometimes offered.

• Pink's Hot Dogs is another famous independent stand and is located in Hollywood, California.
• The Varsity in Atlanta, Georgia is a famous venue for hot dogs.
• Superdawg in Chicago, Illinois is a local tourist attraction which still features carhops.
• Walter's Hot Dog in Mamaroneck, New York, is one of the nation's oldest independent roadside stands.
• Tony Packo's Cafe in Toledo, Ohio made famous worldwide by Cpl. Klinger (Jamie Farr) of the TV show M*A*S*H.

Hot dogs sold by vendors who wander through the stands are a tradition at baseball parks. Several ballparks have signature hot dogs such as Fenway Franks at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and Dodger Dogs at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The Fenway signature is that the hot dog is boiled and grilled Fenway-style, and then served on a New England-style bun, covered with mustard and relish. Often during Red Sox games, vendors traverse the stadium selling the hot dogs plain, giving customers the choice of adding the condiments.

Hot dogs kinds and variations

Competitions

Hot dogs are used in many competitions, including eating competitions and attempts to create world record sized hot dogs. On July 4, 2007, Joey Chestnut set a new record when he ate 66 hotdogs in 12 minutes at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2007 event at Coney Island, breaking the previous record that he set on June 2, 2007 when he ate 59½ hotdogs in 12 minutes at a Nathan's qualifier event in Tempe, AZ. In Arizona, Chestnut had broken the record at the time of 53¾ by Takeru Kobayashi.

The World's Longest Hot Dog created was 60m (196.85 ft), and rested within a 60.3m bun. The hot dog was prepared by Shizuoka Meat Producers for the All-Japan Bread Association, which baked the bun and coordinated the event, including official measurement for the world record. The hot dog and bun were the center of a media event in celebration of the Association's 50th anniversary on August 4, 2006, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel, Tokyo, Japan.

Festivals

The city of Huntington, West Virginia, hosts the annual West Virginia Hot Dog Festival. Each year, at Suffolk Downs in Boston, Massachusetts, thousands of people come to the Hot Dog Safari to contribute money to help people with cystic fibrosis. A future festival possibility comes from a meat market owner in DuBois, Pennsylvania, who created a peanut butter hot dog recipe at the suggestion of the mother of a seven-year-old customer. The popularity of this invention spread via the Internet, and the town of DuBois is now discussing a "peanut butter hot dog" festival.

See also

• Sausage sandwich
• Mechanically separated meat
• Advanced meat recovery
• Chicago-style hot dog
• Corn dog
• Coney Island hot dog
• Dodger Dog
• Hot dog variations
• Cheese dog
• Sausage bun

Notes

References

• Coney Island: The People's Playground
• Fast Food
• It's All in How the Dog Is Served ">http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/dining/25dogs.html}}
• Frankfurter, she wrote: Hot dog shrouded in mystery ">http://www.coveringsports.com/hotdog.htm}}
• Good Old Coney Island: A Sentimental Journey into the Past
• German Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're German
• First Resorts: Pursuing Pleasure at Saratoga Springs, Newport & Coney Island
• Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends

External links

• Hot dog history, legends and trivia
• National Hot Dog & Sausage Council
• Home page for a PBS documentary about hot dogs
• The Evolution of Hot Dogs
• USDA Fact Sheet focusing on Hot Dogs