While searching for American classics and original recipes, I came across the typical dish from New York City, the American Hot Dog. A simple dish consisting of a hot sausage or bockwurst in a bun, mustard, pickles and fried onions. Simple, cheap and delicious. How exactly the hot dog came to its success and how the original preparation of the typical New York hot dog works, you will learn in this article.
Classic American hot dog
Ingredients
- 4 Hot dog sausages Viennese sausages
- 4 Hot Dog Buns Wheat rolls
- Mustard
- Ketchup
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water and bring it to a boil.
- As soon as the water boils you can put the sausages in the water and let them boil for 5 minutes.
- In the same time put the rolls in the oven.
- Once the sausages are cooked you can put it in the baked bun and serve it with mustard and ketchup.
Where did the American hot dog come from?
The American hot dog originates from Frankfurt am Main in Germany. Only the name for the dish is from the USA.
As early as 1847, frankfurters with mustard in a bun were sold in Germany. In the Brooklyn borough of New York, the first American hot dogs were sold 20 years later. In 1867, Charles Feltman opened the first mobile hot dog stand there, and later the famous Feltman’s Restaurant.
What are the typical hot dog variations?
There are countless hot dog varieties in the USA and now all over the world. The Chicago hot dog with its various toppings or the New York hot dog with sauerkraut are particularly well known.
The classic at the football stadium is probably the hot dog with mustard and relish, a condiment sauce made from chopped cucumbers.
The Chicago Style Hot Dog consists of a frankfurter and a hot dog bun, sprinkled with poppy seeds (or sesame seeds). Toppings include yellow mustard, diced white onion, sweet cucumber relish, a dill pickle strip, small bell peppers and some celery salt. A Chicago Style Hot Dog is never prepared with ketchup.
A Seattle style hot dog is served with toasted hot dog bun, creamy cheese, grilled onions and sriracha if desired.
In a Sonora hot dog from Southwest America and Mexico, the sausage is wrapped with bacon and served with beans, mayonnaise and hot sauce. The bun has a different shape and consistency to classic hot dogs. It is not filled from the side, but from the top. There are also Sonora hot dog variations with avocado chunks, relish and tomatoes.
How many hot dogs per person?
3 hot dogs should be expected per person. For people with less hunger, 1 to 2 hot dogs are enough. Frequent eaters like to grab 4 hot dogs to get full.
| Persons | Hot dog count |
| 1 | 1-3 |
| 2 | 2-6 |
| 5 | 5-15 |
| 10 | 10-30 |
| 20 | 20-60 |
Which bun do you use for a classic hot dog?
The classic hot dog bun is made of wheat flour. It is about 17 centimeters long and neither too soft nor too dry. Compared to brioche buns, it does not taste sweet, but like a normal light bun. Ketchup and mustard are well bound by the firmer consistency and do not soften the bun too quickly.
What kind of sausage is used in an American hot dog?
The American hot dog uses sausages made from beef. The German version of the hot dog is prepared with Frankfurter sausages, also known as Frankfurter Brühwurst or Frankfurter Bockwurst. Since the name Frankfurter Würste is trademarked, all sausages not produced in Frankfurt are called “Wiener Würstchen.” In the USA and other countries, the quality of the sausage varies greatly, of course. An industrially produced hot dog sausage will always taste worse than a sausage from the butcher. A common type of industrially produced and very cheap hot dog sausage in America are probably the Oscar Mayer hot dogs.
How to prepare hot dog sausages correctly?
The hot dog sausages are either classically boiled in water or grilled. It is also possible to heat the sausages in the oven. Often they are put on the grill together with hamburgers. From time to time, hot dog sausages in America are also deep-fried. These hot dogs are called rippers because the hot dog sausages get large cracks from being deep fried.
Since the sausage is pre-broiled, you can eat it without heating. However, on the grill, grill flavors are added to the sausage, which change the flavor. Cooking heats the sausage without changing its taste or appearance.
Frankfurters or Vienna sausages should not be pan-fried because nitrite curing salt has often been used for smoked and cured meat and sausage. When heated too high above 150 degrees Celsius, the nitrite in the curing salt reacts with the protein in the meat. Nitrosamines can form in this way in the pan or on the grill. A substance that is carcinogenic in higher quantities.
How long do you cook hot dog sausages?
Since a Frankfurter or Wiener sausage is always pre-cooked, you only need to heat it in water for 5 to 6 minutes. If you cook the sausage too long or at too high a temperature, the sausage will burst.
What sauce do you eat on an American hot dog?
A classic American hot dog is always served with ketchup and mustard.
Mustard is used as the main sauce for almost 75 percent of all hot dog variants. Depending on the region, other sauces such as ketchup or mayonnaise are used for the preparation. Here I have listed a few hot dog varieties that use a more unusual sauce than just mustard.
- Sriracha sauce is used in a Seattle Dog.
- The Danger Dog from California is prepared with ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.
- For the Puka Dog from Hawaii, guava mustard is used as a sauce.
Stev
In my spare time I like to cook and try to visit different places in the world to experience foreign food with my own palate. With this blog I try to share a part of these experiences with you.
