My uncle Mike was a provincial meat inspector and butcher on the kill floor of abattoirs throughout Renfrew County. He was notorious for his witty euphemisms and colloquial language. For example, whenever he saw someone eating a hot dog, he would spew venom at them and say they were eating lips and assholes.
Hot dog history began in the 12th century when a German butcher began selling sausages in elongated buns in Frankfurt, Germany which is why “Frank” and “Frankfurter” became the original name for hot dogs. This inspired Austrian butchers to sell “Franks” in Vienna, which is known as “Wien” in German and morphed into the “Wiener”.  When the Wiener and Frank came to North America they were often sold at sporting events as “Dachshund Sausages” which got shortened to “Hot Dog”.
Today wieners for the most part contain pork and are at best bland until smothered with your favorite toppings. Franks contain beef and are more strongly seasoned with a more desirable texture. Flavor and texture of Wieners and Franks can be influenced by how they are cooked which can be boiled, grilled, fried, or steamed.
Hot dogs are often dressed with a variety of condiments based on one’s own tastes - mustard and catsup being the two most popular condiments of choice.
Proper hot dog preparation dictates that one must dress the dog, not the bun by first applying all wet condiments like mustard and then pile the chunky or coarser toppings like onions or sauerkraut.
Summer is here, the days are hot and long. If you wish you can make your own hot dogs from scratch using the following recipe or visit one of our local butcher shops and use some of theirs.

 

INGREDIENTS:  
1 lb. lean pork, cubed
3/4 lb. lean beef, cubed
1/4 lb. pork fat, cubed
1/4 cup very finely minced onion
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. freshly fine ground white pepper
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 tbsp. water

METHOD:
Puree the onion, garlic, and paprika with the pepper, egg white, sugar, salt and water in a food processor and set aside. Separately grind the pork, beef and fat cubes using a coarse blade. Mix them together and grind them on a fine blade. Stir the seasonings into the meat. Refrigerate the mixture for one hour, and then grind it again. Prepare the casing by cutting 4 - 5 feet of casing and rinse it out with cool running water to remove the salt. Soak the casing for 45 minutes in a bowl of water and 2 tbsp. white vinegar. After soaking, rinse the casing again with cool running water.
 
Stuff the casings and twist them off into 6 inch lengths. Parboil the links in simmering water for 15 – 20 minutes before immediately transferring them to an ice water bath. Once cooled, remove hot dogs from water, dry them and refrigerate until you are ready to grill them up.