The long history of hot dogs

When I think about the places I have worked and lived, I think about their food and eating culture. At the same time I try and understand the evolution of food and its relation with its place of origin. This week, with the American politics drawing attention of everyone, let’s talk about American food. The mere mention of American food brings to the mind images of hot dogs, burgers and shakes. While these do form a big part of American cuisine, there is a lot more to it. Today though, I will talk about the history and evolution of hot dogs. Hot dogs are among America’s favourite foods and are also called frankfurters, frank, weenie, weiner and red hot. Americans consume on average 60 hot dogs per person annually. They are considered a fun, summertime food, and mostly eaten on Labor Day and Memorial Day. A hot dog is a cooked sausage that consists of a combination of meat that is cured, smoked and cooked. The seasoned force is filled into casings and cooked on grill. Seasonings may include garlic, ginger, coriander, mustard, salt, pepper, sugar and white pepper. To further enhance the taste, herbs like parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil etc are added. They are then served in a hot dog soft bun along with drizzle of yellow mustard and ketchup. They are fully cooked and are served hot. The length of sausage depends on the manufacturer or the customer preference and varies from large frankfurters to mini cocktail sausages. According to legend, the term wiener is the birthplace of hot dog. The story states that the master sausage maker who first made the weiner got his early training in Frankfurt, Germany and thus called his sausage as Weiner-Frankfurter or weinerwurst. “Weiner” comes from the German name for Vienna and “wurst” means sausage in Germany. So you may be wondering how the name “hot dog” came to be. Wieners and Frankfurters do not become hot dogs until they are placed in the bun or the bread roll. The German cuisine relies heavily on sausages of all shapes and sizes with variety of fillings, it stands to reason that the German immigrants brought these sausages with them to America and sold them on milk rolls and sauerkraut from carts on New York’s streets during the 1860s. Initially the sausages were served on their own, drizzled with mustard and ketchup but that became a messy affair to eat and also the hot dog being hot was difficult to eat while on the go and the sales were not that promising. Also, people did not want to get their hands messy. So one of the hot dog sellers asked his baker friend to devise a solution to the problem. The baker then made a long milk-bread in the shape of a hot dog for the sausage to be placed in, eliminating the need to dirty one’s hands. This quickly rose in popularity. In 1987, the city of Frankfurt celebrated the 500th birthday of the hot dog in that city. It is said that the frankfurter was developed there in 1487, five years before Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world.Chicken Khurchan Hot DogIngredientsChicken Breast 450 gmGinger, chopped 1 tspOlive oil 2 tbspSalt to tasteDegi mirch powder ½ tspCoriander powder 1 tspLemon juice ½ tbspChat masala ½ tspCoriander leaves, chopped 2 tbspIce berg lettuce few leavesGarnishMint sprig to garnishMint sauce to accompanyBreadHot Dog bread 4 noMethodHeat oil in a skillet or a heavy bottom pan. Add ginger and sauté.Add chicken juliennes and toss to stir fry, till lightly browned.Add degi mirch powder, coriander powder, lemon juice and salt and cook over slow flame till the chicken is cooked.If the mixture is too dry or starts to stick to pan, add some moisture.Adjust the seasoning and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and chat masala.Keep the mixture aside.Slit the hot dog bun lengthwise and warm both sides.Place shredded lettuce on the hot dog bun and the prepared chicken mixture on top.Drizzle some mint sauce and dust some chat masala dust on top and serve hot.