Origins of the Hot Dog

Origins of the Hot Dog

People traced the history of sausages up to the terms of the infamous Roman emperor’s Nero.

Nero’s cook Gaius first presented a dish made of pork intestines filled with herbs and meat.[1]The Germans of Vienna, Austria and Frankfurt, Germany have established the recipe of the famous frankfurter and wienerwurst sausages.

 

 

Along with the many German immigrants immigrated to the United States of America due to the complicated religious and political tensions between the German nation-states before the unification of Germany, came the German sausages.

Along with the sausages, came the great recipe the hot dog! Hotdogs became an iconic recipe in the United States of America after the 1850’s. When did people start eating hotdogs and why was it called a hot dog in the first place?

 

 

It looks like a Dachshund

Even now the Dachshund is often referred as the wiener dog or the sausage dog. Wiener derives from the Vienna which is the current capital of Austria.

People referred to the Austrian style sausages as Wienerwurst as Wiener was the German for Vienna. The name of the Dachshund doesn’t have anything to do with sausages.

 

 

‘Dachs’ means badger in German and ‘hund’ means dog in German. The Dachshund itself was a hunting dog bred to hunt badgers.

Thus, some origins suggest the name hot dog came after the sausage resembling a dachshund which is of German Origin and named it ‘hot dog’. Many journals would like to use the image to portray hotdogs

 

 

People thought it had dog meat

Germany had a history of dog meat consumption. Currently, it is illegal to consume dog or cat meat in Germany currently.[2] However as Germans used to consume dog meats, many Americans had a superstition that the Germans had dog meat in sausages as well.

Some suggest that this superstition led to the name ‘Hot Dogs’ as sausages were introduced by the German immigrants.

 

 

The invention of the Bun

Who introduced the bun then? Some say that a German immigrant in Saint Louis Anton Feuchtwanger invented the bun while another claim that another German immigrant named Charles Feltman in New York made the bun. Some even suggest that both may have influenced each other. 

 

 

Anton Feuchtwanger immigrated from Germany to St. Louis. He sold sausages however he had to lend customers gloves that his customers wouldn’t often return.

Anton Feuchtwanger discusses with his brother-in law to make a bun that could hold the sausage which would become the iconic hot dog bun.

 

 

Also, the St. Louis bar would introduce the hot dogs into baseball parks which made hotdogs the iconic snack to each when watching baseball.

Charles Feltman was a baker on Coney Island who was famous for his baked pies. He used to sell baked pies on a mobile wagon but often receive complaints for its size.

Along with some demand for portable food that doesn’t make waste, Charles Feltman made the hotdog. Feltman would later on establish the Feltman’s Ocean Pavilion which was once considered the largest restaurant in the world.[3]

 

 

Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest 

Nathan Handwerker may have contributed to promoting the hotdog nationwide.

Nathan Handwerker was an immigrant from Poland who established a hot dog stand in Coney Island actually rivaling with the Feltman’s restaurants. Nathan would later establish the ‘Nathan’s Famous’ brand which still operates on Coney Island even now.

 

 

Nathan’s Famous would be most famous for the iconic hot dog eating contests that it holds on every 4th of July at Coney Island.

The Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is one of the most iconic events supported by the International Federation of Competitive Eating(IFOCE) which is also referred as Major League Eating. (https://majorleagueeating.com/).

 

 

Takeru Kobayashi who is a Japanese famous for eating many hotdogs earned his fame in holding records in these competitions.

As of 2022, Joey Chestnut holds 15 Mustard Yellow Belt which is a prize given to the winner of the competition. For women, Miki Sudo has won 8 titles as of 2022 with a world record of eating 48.5 hot dogs.

 

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[1] “The Extra-Long History of the Hot Dog.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/news/break-out-the-buns-the-history-of-the-hot-dog.

[2] P;, Geppert. “[Dog Slaughtering in Germany in the 19th and 20th Centuries with Special Consideration of the Munich Area].” Berliner Und Munchener Tierarztliche Wochenschrift, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1463437/.

[3] Quinn, Michael, and Joe Quinn. “A Brief History of Charles Feltman.” Feltman's of Coney Island, https://www.feltmansofconeyisland.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-charles-feltman.