The Hot Dog: From Frankfurt to Coney Island
Sausage, bun and a summer contest. The hot dog came to America with German immigrants and found fame at Coney Island. Its history, regional styles and the July 4 eating contest.
Nathan's at Coney Island: Reading Tom from Reading, UK, CC BY 2.0
German sausages, American bun
Frankfurters and wieners, named after Frankfurt and Vienna, arrived in the US with German immigrants in the 1800s. Street vendors sold them hot, and at some point they were served in a soft roll so customers could eat without plates. Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, is often credited with selling sausages in rolls at Coney Island in Brooklyn from around 1870.
Nathan's and the nickel hot dog
Nathan Handwerker worked at Feltman's and in 1916 opened his own stand nearby, selling hot dogs for five cents, half Feltman's price. Nathan's Famous became a Coney Island landmark. Its July 4 hot dog eating contest is now a televised event watched by millions.
Regional styles
A Chicago-style hot dog is an all-beef frank on a poppy seed bun with mustard, chopped onion, bright green relish, tomato, pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt, and no ketchup. New York dogs often come with onions in tomato sauce or sauerkraut. Detroit's Coney dog is topped with chili, mustard and onion, and Seattle has hot dogs with cream cheese.
Food safety tips
Hot dogs are pre-cooked but should be heated until steaming hot, especially for pregnant people and older adults, per USDA advice. For young children, cut hot dogs lengthwise and into small pieces to reduce choking risk, as paediatric groups recommend.
Menu guide: hot dogs around the world
In Germany, bratwurst and currywurst are street classics. Denmark's polse stands serve red sausages with crispy fried onions. Iceland's pylsur come with raw and fried onion and a sweet brown mustard. In Mexico, Sonoran hot dogs are wrapped in bacon and piled with beans, tomatoes and jalapeno sauce, a style that is also famous in Tucson, Arizona.
Did you know? There is a long-running debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council has playfully argued it is not. Americans eat billions of hot dogs a year, with the busiest season running from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Nathan's at Coney Island: Reading Tom from Reading, UK, CC BY 2.0
Text written by Fast Food Run.
