06 September 2023 , 15:30
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As the hot weather continues, some people may be planning a BBQ to celebrate what looks set to be an Indian summer. And in addition to burgers, ribs, and corn on the cobs, sausages are an essential part of the menu.
However, have you ever stopped to think about how the wieners that go into hot dogs are made? A video put together by the Discovery Channel has revealed exactly what the process is and after seeing some viewers’ comments, you might not want to know.
In the short documentary, the narrator explains that the humble snack was probably invented by the Germans but there are records of people selling them from a cart in New York neighbourhoods as far back as 1860. More than 170 years later they’re still as popular as ever.
The mixture is ground down to a soft puree (Discovery UK /Youtube)According to the video, an average sausage contains beef, pork, and chicken and is created from the trimmings left over from steaks or pork chops. Described as “mainly muscle tissue”, it’s all mixed together in a grinder before the processed chicken trimmings are added.
Food starch, salt and flavourings like mustard are then added before water is stirred into the vat of mixture. It’s then revealed that corn syrup is added, for a little sweetness, some more water to make the concoction juicier, and then everything is ground down a bit more until it resembles a liquid emulsion.
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Once the puree is ready it goes into what’s known as the “stuffing machine”, where it is pumped into cellulose casings to give it shape, twisting it every 13 centimetres, the length of one hot dog. It takes roughly 35 seconds to make a chain of sausages that would span a football pitch twice.
At this point, the wieners are put through several other machines, including liquid smoke, to add more flavour before they’re baked. After cooking, they’re then drenched in cold salty water, unpeeled, and packaged to be sold.
The extraordinary process, which produces around three million sausages a day, appeared to delight some people but quite a few others were put off. One person wrote: “This is enough to make me go vegetarian.” Another viewer added: “I don't think I am ever going to eat hot dogs again.” And someone else penned: A video confirmation of why I DO NOT eat hot dogs anymore.”