The humble sausage has been with us since the 9th century BC in some form or other – the definition being ground meat, mildly spiced in a casing.
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Frankfurt, Germany, is traditionally credited with originating the frankfurter. It's said that the frankfurter was developed there in 1487. But the people of Vienna (Wien), Austria, point to the term "wiener" to prove their claim as the birthplace of the hot dog.
Austrians and Germans brought the sausages with them to the United States and sold them from carts in cities on the East Coast.
As Germans and Austrians had a great love of dogs and often had them at their side while selling franks and wieners, historians say the name came about as somewhat of a joke -- people would joke that dogs were included in the sausage. That was never the case, but it has added to the "mystique" of the hot dog.
Originally, hot dogs were all sold in a natural casing that you ate. Today, the vast majority -- about 95 percent -- are made in cellulose casings that are removed before they are packaged. We call these skinless hot dogs.
From being the poor man of the sausage world, the pedigree of the hotdog is being restored both to restaurants and streets. Gone are the additives, water, dubious meat and added fats and back are the natural casings, British prime meat and of course, the inimitable snap, succulence and smoke.
For the gourmet experience try Bubble Dogs – champagne and hot dogs http://www.bubbledogs.co.uk
For the street experience try Big Apple http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/
Please let me know of any more local places!
