Hot Dog vs Sausage
The difference between hot dog and sausage is basically in the origin of each and what they contain. Baseball in US is intricately linked with hot dogs, and no baseball game is complete without having hotdogs (and I mean spectators). Incredibly delicious, hot dogs have become an integral part of the US culture. However, if you are interested in knowing the origins of hot dogs, and how this sausage is different from many other kinds of sausages, read on this article as there are many who think that hotdog is a special breed and not just a sausage. Nevertheless, anyone would agree with the fact that both hot dog and sausage are very tasty.
What is a Sausage?
A sausage is a long thin casing that contains ground meat. This casing is usually an animal intestine. However, sometimes you will see synthetic casings as well. Some kinds of sausages go through a cooking process when they are prepared. Sometimes the casing gets removed after that. Have you heard the names Frankfurters and Weiners? You may be wondering what these foreign-sounding names are. These are sausages similar to hot dogs that were in vogue even before Americans learnt to make their own hot dogs. Frankfurters are a creation from Frankfurt, Germany, while Weiners are a type of sausage made in Vienna, Austria.
If you consider the type of ingredients a sausage uses, if one talks about German sausages, they are made of prime lean pork with a little amount of bacon fat. This is cut into thin pieces and made into a paste, put into casings made of pork intestine and finally smoked over grills. Nowadays, there are even vegetarian sausages that do not use any meat. These sausages are based on soya protein or tofu.
What is a Hot Dog?
Hot dog is not an American invention because it is a type of sausage that has learnt its ways from other sausage kinds. It actually owes its origins to Frankfurters and Weiners. Though, hot dogs are a type of sausage that is a mixture of Frankfurters and Weiners and a style that is very American, people think that it is something different and not just a sausage; they are not to blame though given the popularity of hot dogs. When we look at the ingredients used in making hot dogs, we can say that hot dogs are typically American and have meats coming from different sources. You may not be sure of the ingredients unless you have eaten it a number of times at a particular joint. There may be pig and cow heart along with pig cheeks. To these ingredients is added iced water (about 1/3 in weight) and stuffed in a casing made of sheep intestine. This casing is kept over a grill and smoked. The ingredients become brownish in appearance. This casing is kept inside a bun that is warmed. With a bite, the casing burst open and one gets the flavor of the sausage. Now, synthetic casing is also used.
What is the difference between Hot Dog and Sausage?
• Sausage is a generic term for ground meat or other vegetarian items stuffed along with spices in a casing.
• Hot dog is an American sausage that has become a cultural identity along with baseball.
• Hot dog owes its origins to frankfurters and wieners that come from Frankfurt, Germany, and Vienna, Austria.
• The ingredients of a hot dog and sausage can differ. A hot dog can have pig and cow heart along with pig cheeks. As you can see, a hot dog only has meat as its filling. That is not the case with sausages. Different types of sausages use different types of ingredients. Some use ingredients to the filling such as breadcrumbs. Some sausages are made specially using ingredients such as apple and leek.
• Hot dog is normally presented in between a bun that is sliced in half. However, you do not have to present other sausages in this fashion.
• The casing of both hot dog and sausage can be natural or synthetic. Natural casing means it uses the cleaned intestine of an animal. Synthetic means it uses a cellulose casing. This casing is removed between cooking and packaging. This is especially done with hot dogs.
Now, you can see that a hot dog is a type of a sausage. The ingredients may differ, but it is also a sausage.
Images Courtesy:
- Japanese arabiki pork sausages served with scrambled eggs by Takeaway (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- A cooked hot dog with mustard garnish via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
