Boiling a hot dog is the healthiest choice. A hot dog is mostly made up of fat and salt. If you’re watching your salt intake, boiling your hot dog will remove some of the salt and plump up the hot dog. You may find this leaves your hot dog a little soggy and may have a reduction in flavor, but it is the healthiest option. Grilling a hot dog can leave it blackened. Burnt meat is said to have potentially cancer-causing substances, and should be avoided whenever possible. It’s important to know which is the healthiest based on how many hot dogs are consumed in a year. According to Fox News Americans eat 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day, making it one of the staples of the American diet.
What are Hot Dogs Really Made Of?
There are many different reports surrounding the contents of hot dogs, so let’s look at the main ingredients in a standard hot dog.
Hot dogs are essentially emulsified meat trimmings, traditionally from beef, pork or chicken but sometimes turkey. Preservatives, coloring, and spices are also added. Processed collagen from animal intestines often make up the casings surrounding the meat, like we see in sausage.
Other ingredients include MSG (monosodium glutamate) which is typically used as a meat tenderizer and flavor enhancer, maltodextrin which improves texture and shelf-life, modified food starch, phosphates, sugar, corn syrup and water among a few other ingredients.
The meat trimmings are the primary ingredients in hot dogs which come from the meat that is cut off of roasts and steaks, fat or muscle for example. Sometimes organ meat (listed as animal by-products) are included in hot dogs. According to Business Insider the meat can include head meat, animal feet and animal skin as they are considered “edible animal by-products.”
What are the Most Common Hot Dog Toppings?
Just like hamburgers, ketchup, mustard and relish are the most common condiments added to a hot dog. Cheese, pickles, chilli, corn relish, hot sauce and bacon are examples of other popular toppings.