Hot dog varieties can be found anywhere. May it be on the street foods, food carts, at the grocery stores in supermarkets, or even in restaurants. They can also be eaten alone, or with different condiments and dressings.
It is indeed a comfort food that can be consumed anytime, as it reminds people of how eating hot dogs in a baseball game or grill out provides happy times. This is also one of the reasons why a hot dog can be a specialty in drive-thrus and quick-service restaurants.
Origin of Hot Dog
There are disputes that hot dogs were created in the late 1600’s by Johann Georghehner, a butcher, living in Coburg, Germany. By then, it is called dachshund sausages, and the name suggests why it is referred to as hot dogs these days.
It is believed that Harry Mosley Stevens bought the hot dog in the US by inventing it in the early twentieth century in New York City, New York. Around 1870, a German immigrant by the name of Charles Feltman opened the first hot dog stand on Coney Island.
Are Hotdogs Junk Food?
Well, some might argue with it, but hot dogs are actually unhealthy food when consumed in excessive ways. The reason behind that is that hot dogs are high in saturated fat and sodium. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) also claims that a hot dog, along with other processed meats such as ham, may contribute to colorectal cancer.
What Is A Hot Dog?
Hot dog is a processed meat that has been turned into sausages. It can be made out of the traditional meats, such as pork and beef. Slightly cheaper varieties use chicken or turkey meats, using low-cost mechanically separated poultry.
Hot dogs are usually served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. Condiments, such as ketchup or mustard, are usually drizzled on the top. Mayonnaise, relish, and cheese sauce can also be used as well. Since it is served in a hot dog bun, others would consider that dish as a type of sandwich.
What Are The Different Varieties of Hot Dogs
Let us check some of the most popular varieties of hot dogs around the world by reading further.
Francheezie
This Chicago dog or Chicago style hot dog is a classic bacon-wrapped hot dog and deep-fried danger dog. This Chicago dog is an all-beef hot dog split down the middle, and filled with either American cheese, Cheddar, or Velveeta prior deep-frying.
Like the other Chicago style hot dogs, Francheezie is also served in a poppy seed bun. You can also optionally add some cheese as a topping once the hot dogs are deep fried. Yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, dill pickle spears, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt are just some of the other alternative toppings for this Chicago dog.
Baltimore-style hot dog
This variety of hot dog is actually a kosher dog as it uses kosher beef sausage that is fried with bologna slices that are golden brown and slightly crispy. Usually, this kosher dog is wrapped in bologna before placing it in a well-split hot dog bun with a dill pickle spear.
You can also add yellow mustard as a topping for the Baltimore-style hot dog. Unlike the other varieties of hot dogs that are intended for happy times, this variety has a quite gloomy history as it is said to have been invented during the Great Depression era. People then added bologna slices to the hot dog to turn it into a fuller, heartier meal.
Dixie dog
This is a variety of slaw dog and is a traditional American hot dog originally from Huntington, West Virginia. To make a Dixie dog, you will need a split hot dog roll and a blubbery hot dog sausage.
It is usually a hot dog topped with chili sauce and creamy coleslaw, thus, in West Virginia where it was invented, it is only called a slaw dog or simply hot dogs. This hotdog variety is said to have been invented in 1932 at Stewart’s root beer stand.
Bagel dog
In physical appearance, a bagel dog looks like pigs in a blanket, but it is made of a regular or small-sized hot dog sausage wrapped in bagel dough. You would find this on street food stands in New York City, Cincinnati, and Chicago as a popular food. It is that the dish was created by Milar R in 1980.
Prior to baking, bagel hot dogs are usually topped with poppy seeds to achieve new flavors and textures on the dish. Cheese, onions, and garlic can also be added to have tasty bagel hot dogs.
Reuben dog
One of the New York Dogs varieties, Reuben hot dogs are said to have been originally created in New York City. To create this dish, a hot dog sausage is pan-fried in butter. The hot dog served in a split hot dog bun is then topped with melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing.
If you know the classic Reuben sandwich, this one is the hot dog version. Another twist that you can do on this hot dog is to add corned beef as a topping.
Reindeer dog
This Alaska dog variety is said to be very good and has been sold in other parts of the US such as Denver and Portland.
This Alaskan hot dog variety is typically made with caribou, pork, and beef sausages. To elevate the split and grilled hot dog, a steamed bun is topped with Coca-Cola-deglazed onions, mustard, and cream cheese. Optional toppings that can be combined to the Alaska dog will be ketchup and relish.
Corn Dogs
Corn dog is a popular Texas dog variety that is made of processed meat on a stick that is dipped in cornmeal batter and before deep frying. It is also one of the most popular varieties of hot dogs, which is used as a snack in the US.
You would be spotting this simple hot dog variety at county fairs, carnivals, sports arenas, food courts in malls, and roadside eateries. There are different toppings that can be added into the corn dog, but the most popular would be a simple cheddar cheese, or any other kinds of cheese like the swiss cheese.
Italian Hot Dogs
An Italian hot dog or simply an Italian dog has a unique appearance compared to the other hot dog varieties. It is typically made with large loaves of pizza bread that has a hole in the middle. It is typically baked by local Italian bakers and that’s where the Italian hot dog has been derived.
The pizza bread is then quartered, sliced, then filled with deep-fried sausages, chopped raw onion, peppers, and crispy fried potatoes which has a soft center. The use of the tender pizza bread allows it to up some of the grease and holds all of the ingredients together.
Cachorro Quente
This is a Brazilian version of a hot dog with different toppings, which can be cheddar cheese, pickles, grilled peppers or other shredded cheese. There are also different versions of the Cachorro quente in each region in Brazil depending on the preferences.
This hotdog variety is usually made of a bread roll filled with sausage links, ground beef in a chunky tomato sauce. It also comes with green peppers and onions, and melted cheese. Cachorro quente is also served with a variety of side dishes that includes mashed potatoes, corn, grated carrots, fries, peas, or pico de gallo, whichever you would prefer.
Polish boy
This variety is popular in Cleveland, Ohio, which is actually their signature dish and is also called Cleveland polish boy. It is made of a kielbasa sausage, coleslaw, fries, and barbecue sauce in a bun.
A restaurant owner named Virgil Whitmore is said to have invented the Polish boy hot dog in the 1940s by combining smoked beef sausage with other available ingredients that he had in the restaurant.
Seattle Dog
Seattle dog is a hot dog variety that is made of a toasted bun and a sausage. It is also topped with a variety of toppings such as cream cheese, barbecue sauce, cabbage, and a large amount of grilled onions.
There are also different variations of toppings such as pico de gallo, bacon, pickles, or mustard. Seattle-style hot dogs are said to have been invented by Hadley Longe, in 1988. He is the bagel man who originally placed a sausage on a bagel with cream cheese and sold it to the locals on their night out near Pioneer Square.
Half-Smoke Hotdog
If you love some kick on your hot dog, try this variety which is actually a street food staple in Washington D. C. Its key ingredient is the mildly smoked beef and pork sausage in a natural casing.
The sausage used in this type is also thicker than the average hot dog sausage. The meat is also ground more coarsely. The spicy kick comes from the red pepper flakes that are spread throughout the meat.
To make this hotdog, just place the sausage on a split roll. Topped with chili, or sometimes with mustard and diced onions. For an added spice, you can drizzle some spicy meat sauce on top of the hot dog.
Idaho Hot Dogs
If you are looking for a skinless hot dog, the Idaho variety would be perfect for your preferences. This hotdog variety is made of a skinless hot dog baked inside a hollowed-out potato, which is why it is also called Idaho super tuber.
The mixture is then split open and different toppings like chives, bacon bits, and sour cream are added. To get a more authentic experience, make sure to use Idaho potatoes when preparing this unique and tasty snack.
What Makes A Great Hot Dog
If you are planning to prepare some hot dogs in your home or would want to try it as a business, there are some few things that you will need to consider before making one.
They say that a hot dog is an unhealthy food and should not be consumed even as a snack. But like everything else, as long as you are consuming it in moderation and eating other healthy food, then you can eat a hot dog.
Now, if you are looking to prepare a hot dog, you might want to consider the quality of the bun that you are going to use. One of the essential things that you will need to have a great hot dog would be a good quality bun.
There are few types of buns that you can use if you are going to make your own hot dog. Poppy seed bun is one of the addicting buns that you can use. It is so soft and can be filled with an abundance of delicious filling like a hot dog and other toppings.
You can also use steamed bun, toasted bun, sesame seed bun or the New England style bun. These buns have their own purpose, so depending on the type of hot dog that you are preparing, you can use any of them.
The second thing that you should be looking at will be the type of sausage that you are going to use. This means you will need to know each type of sausage so that you can match it perfectly on the type of hot dog that you are going to prepare.
You might have chili dog sausage, sonoran dog sausage, the all beef frank, philadelphia dog, scrambled dog, bacon-wrapped dog and a lot more.
Selecting the right toppings and condiments for the hotdog would also greatly affect the quality of the dish that you are going to prepare. Make sure that you won’t go over-the-top and only use what is intended for the dish. But you can always do some experiment to see if it works well.
Hot sauce, spicy mustard, chopped raw onion or chopped onions, tomato slices or chopped tomatoes, grilled onions, celery salt, yellow mustard, shredded cheddar cheese and others are just some of the most commonly used toppings on a hot dog.
You can also serve some side dishes to accompany the main hot dog dish that you have. Some of the common side dishes would be pinto beans or boston baked beans and french fries.
Depending on how you would prefer the outcome of your hot dog dish, it’s a good thing to remember that there are other styles of preparations that you can take.