The Controversial Origins of the Hot Dog

Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, New York, is famous for hosting the world’s largest hot dog-eating competition. However, the origins of this event remain uncertain. According to Nathan's website, the contest began in 1916 when four immigrants, each claiming to be the most patriotic, decided to settle the argument with a hot dog-eating contest at Nathan's on July 4th.

This tale, however, is probably just a bunch of hot dog baloney—or perhaps a mix of beef, natural flavorings, sodium phosphates, hydrolyzed corn protein, and paprika.

In 2010, a public relations professional who had worked with Nathan’s told The New York Times that this story was a marketing creation designed with the flair of a Coney Island pitchman. Some of the earliest mentions of a hot dog eating competition at Nathan’s date back to 1967, when a newspaper reported that truck driver Walter Paul ate 127 hot dogs in an hour—supposedly to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the hot dog, though it wasn’t. There’s even speculation that Paul may not have been real, and Nathan’s has given inconsistent details about the year and number of hot dogs he consumed.

Hot dog eating contests have been a staple in New York since at least the 1920s. A December 1922 article from the New York Tribune mentioned that after a parade in lower Manhattan, participants headed to their headquarters to witness a grand contest of frankfurter consumption. The winner, the impressive Val Menges, managed to eat 51 hot dogs, doing so 'both nude and in dough kimonos.'

While the modern iteration of the Nathan’s contest is believed to have started in 1972, there’s some uncertainty, as it was referred to as the '23rd annual' that year. This makes it a bit tricky to determine the exact origin, especially with the flair of 'Coney Island pitchman style' thrown into the mix.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has grown to worldwide fame, attracting participants from across the globe. In 2021, Joey Chestnut, the reigning champion, devoured an astounding 76 hot dogs to win $10,000, Nathan’s Mustard Belt, and, hopefully, some antacid tablets for the journey ahead.

The history of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is just one part of the broader mystery surrounding hot dogs themselves. From their origins to the question of whether they should be considered sandwiches, much of hot dog lore remains open to delicious debate.

From Sausage to Hot Dog

The origins of this iconic American dish trace back to the ancient invention of sausages, which have existed for thousands of years. A sausage is typically crafted from seasoned and processed meats, with a variety of versions enjoyed worldwide. These sausages can be fresh or cured, smoked or dried, and have long been a key method of food preservation in numerous cultures.

Sausage-making is believed to have begun around 4000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia, where early records describe meat being stuffed into intestinal casings, a method still used today. One of the earliest references to a sausage, possibly a type of blood sausage, appears in Homer’s Odyssey, where Odysseus, upon returning to find his home overrun by suitors, is said to 'roll from side to side as a cook turns a sausage,' at least according to one translation.

The distinction between hot dogs and other sausages can be unclear, which complicates the search for the hot dog’s true origin. Germany, however, claims to be the birthplace of the modern hot dog. One version of the story connects the food’s invention to Frankfurt in the late 15th century, just before Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. Frankfurt even celebrated the frankfurter’s 500th birthday in 1987. But the town of Coburg disputes this claim, asserting that a butcher from the 1600s invented the hot dog before bringing it to Frankfurt. To add another layer of complexity, Vienna also argues that its wienerwurst was the true origin of the hot dog.

Despite the confusion over its origin, food historians agree that German immigrants played a pivotal role in popularizing hot dogs in the U.S. In the 1800s, many Germans, after settling in New York City, began selling sausages from pushcarts as a way to make a living. This marks the beginning of the hot dog’s association with street food and the iconic city of New York.

In the U.S., hot dogs are viewed as a quintessentially American food, yet their popularity spans the globe. For example, the Sonora dog from the Mexican state of Sonora features a sausage wrapped in bacon and stuffed into a bolillo, topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, mayo, and mustard. Meanwhile, in Thailand, the Khanom Tokyo hot dog is served in a thin crepe (the Khanom Tokyo), accompanied by either sweet or savory condiments. One of the most popular versions in Latin America is Salchipapas, which replaces the bun with fried sausage slices served atop french fries, found in Peru, Ecuador, and other countries in the region.

The Famous Origins of the Hot Dog Name

So when exactly did the term hot dog become tied to the street food we know today? One legend traces its origin to cartoonist T.A. 'Tad' Dorgan. According to this tale, Dorgan attended a New York Giants baseball game in 1901, where hot Frankfurter sandwiches were being sold. Inspired by this, he later drew a cartoon depicting a dachshund in a roll. Unable to correctly spell the breed’s name, he simply wrote 'hot dog.'

While it’s a charming story, there are some inconsistencies. Although Dorgan did indeed create a hot dog cartoon, it didn’t appear until 1906, and it was tied to a bicycle race rather than a Giants game. Additionally, the term hot dog was already in common use by the time Dorgan supposedly attended that baseball game.

Another theory points to a food vendor named Thomas Francis Xavier Morris. Originally from the Caribbean, Morris traveled Europe as a strongman before settling in Patterson, New Jersey. There, he started selling frankfurters and became known by the nickname 'Hot Dog Morris.' While it's hard to verify, his marketing tactics might have contributed to the widespread use of the name in the late 1800s.

A third theory, less charming than the previous two, is the most widely accepted by food historians. This theory suggests that hot dogs were once believed to contain real dog meat. In 19th-century Germany, eating dog meat wasn’t uncommon, leading to rumors about the contents of the mystery meat sold by German immigrants on street corners. Prejudice against German-Americans, a large immigrant group in the 19th and early 20th centuries, likely fueled these fears. According to writer and occasional etymologist H. L. Mencken, by 1913, the rumor was so pervasive that the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce banned the term hot dog on signs to avoid giving visitors the wrong idea about the food's ingredients.

What Hot Dogs Are Made Of

So, if hot dogs aren't made from dog meat, what exactly are they made of? It varies, but pork and beef are the most common meats used. However, they aren’t exactly prime cuts. Typically, hot dogs start with 'trimmings,' which refers to the leftover parts of meat production. After being precooked to kill bacteria, the trimmings are emulsified into a paste, ground up, and forced through a mesh sieve. Flavorings and preservatives are added, and the mixture is pureed again. Finally, the concoction is cooked in tubular casings, giving the hot dog its iconic shape.

You can rest easy knowing that hot dogs approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture don’t contain earthworms. This urban legend stems from confusion around the ingredient sodium erythorbate, a curing agent used in processed meats. Because 'erythorbate' sounds similar to 'earthworm,' rumors began to circulate about the true nature of the hot dog’s ingredients. The USDA frequently addresses these questions, clarifying that sodium erythorbate is definitely not derived from ground-up creepy crawlies.

The Many Hot Dog Debates

According to some, a hot dog’s most important ingredient is its bun. Merriam-Webster describes hot dogs as usually being served on long split rolls, which could make the fluffy vehicle a distinguishing factor between hot dogs and other sausages. It’s unclear where the hot dog bun originated, but many food historians point to Coney Island, where, in the 19th century, an Austrian-born baker named Ignatz Frischmann developed an oblong Vienna roll specifically for holding hot dogs. (Prior to this innovation, boardwalk sausages were typically served between two slices of bread.) Frischmann supplied his unique rolls to vendors around Coney Island, and when he died in 1904, he was credited with the invention of the hot dog bun in his New York Times obituary.

The introduction of the bun eventually led to an inflammatory question: Is a hot dog a sandwich? If you ask the California legislature, the answer is yes. Its tax code mentions “hot dog and hamburger sandwiches” served from “sandwich stands or booths,” which means a hot dog is legally a sandwich in the state. Oscar Meyer and Merriam-Webster also fall on the pro-sandwich side of the debate. Among those arguing that hot dogs deserve their own category is the National Hot Dog And Sausage Council. In 2015, the organization said that “limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy.’” According to their statement,  “a hot dog is an exclamation of joy, a food, a verb describing one ‘showing off’ and even an emoji. It is truly a category unto its own.”

One of the most debated topics is the rivalry between the New York and Chicago hot dogs. Like New York, Chicago experienced an influx of German immigrants in the 19th century, and they brought with them their sausage-making traditions. By the 1900s, hot dogs had become an integral part of Chicago's food scene, but the Chicago dog, as we recognize it today, only gained prominence later on. A classic Chicago hot dog, known for being 'dragged through the garden,' is topped with yellow mustard, onions, tomatoes, relish, sport peppers, celery salt, and a pickle spear, all placed on a poppy seed bun. Interestingly, this signature bun was introduced by Sam Rosen, a Polish immigrant, who moved to Chicago in 1909 and contributed his baking expertise to the city.

French's made yellow mustard a hot dog staple when it became a favorite condiment at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Other distinctive toppings of the Chicago-style hot dog emerged from the immigrant communities of the city's West Side. These unique toppings were a way for vendors to cater to the varied palates of different ethnic groups. The Chicago dog gained significant popularity during the Great Depression, when affordable yet filling food was in high demand. Vendors added extra ingredients to their hot dogs, making them not only nutritious but also hearty enough to sustain customers. As to whether the Chicago dog’s historical importance makes it superior to the Coney Island version, that remains a matter of debate.

This story has been adapted from an episode of the Mytour series Food History on YouTube.