Red Hot, wiener, frankfurter, wienie, dachshund sandwich, meat slurry by any other name would still taste as sweet.
As Independence Day approaches, aficionados look to their Mecca - Coney Island and the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. I discussed the bout for the Mustard Colored Belt last year. This year’s focus will be on the morsel itself.
Food historians relish debating the origin of the sausage. Some cite a translation of Homer’s The Odyssey that mentions the sausage; others eschew that translation. Some attribute the treat to Nero’s chef; others boil at that idea and claim it apocryphal.
By the Middle Ages many cities laid claim to the legend of the link. Frankfurt, Germany declares a local butcher created a pre-cooked sausage, ergo the Frankfurter. Craving to catch up to its rival, Vienna, Austria also alleges ancestry. Vienna in German is Wien from which comes the word wiener.
But a sausage is just that until its put on the bun. Who first matched bun and wiener? Those stories peel forth like layers from an onion. Several world fairs, sidewalk and sport venue vendors claim the bright spark of adding the bun.
One fact is certain. In 1916, Nathan Handwerker left his employer to sell hot dogs for half what the ex-boss charged. This action gave rise to an annual July 4 tradition - watching grown adults shove as many red hots down their gullet as they can in 10 minutes. That’s what this country is all about. As ever- BB
"I devoured hot dogs in Baltimore 'way back in 1886, and they were then very far from new-fangled..." - H.L. Mencken
"It's like a bromance...I'm having fun with it." - Joey Chestnut current holder of Nathan's Mustard Colored Belt
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