National Hot Dog and Sausage Council President Janet Riley appeared this week in an episode of the Cooking Channel’s new hit series, “United Tastes of America.” From the streets of Chicago, to the boardwalk of Coney Island, the episode delved into the history, process and pop-culture that have transformed one of America's favorite foods – the hot dog.
Riley and host Jeffery Saad, runner-up on Season 5 of the “The Next Food Network Star,” chatted on the boardwalk in Coney Island about New York style hot dogs, the origin of the hot dog in the United States and just how the term “hot dog” came about.
“They [hot dogs] came from Frankfurt, Germany, which is why we call them Frankfurters and the Germans also loved dachshund dogs,” Riley noted. “They started to make a joke that their dogs were the raw ingredients in their sausages. It was a joke, of course, but eventually they began to call their wagons ‘dog wagons’ and the name ‘hot dog’ evolved and took off.”
For the episode, Saad ventured around the country to examine some unique spins on this American icon.
In addition to Coney Island, Saad travelled to Chicago to visit a local boutique hot dog restaurant, “Hot Dog University” and the Vienna Hot Dog Factory; to Los Angeles where he interviewed the owners of a hot dog food truck and an out-of-the-way hot dog stand in Reseda; and finally to an eccentric café in New York City’s Little Italy that boasts a $69, three foot long hot dog that's covered in truffle oil and topped with foie gras.
According to the show’s website, each episode of “United Tastes of America” focuses on one iconic American food classic — donuts, pizza, meatballs, burgers — to discover how a simple food notion evolves to mythic proportions … and how some of today's hottest chefs reinterpret these icons in amazing and delicious ways.
The hot dog episode will re-air throughout December and January at the following times. Check your local listings for the Cooking Channel:
December 05, 2010, 11:00 p.m. EDT
December 05, 2010, 3:00 a.m EDT
December 28, 2010, 9:30 p.m. EDT
December 28, 2010, 1:30 a.m. EDT
January 02, 2011, 11:00 p.m. EDT
January 02, 2011, 3:00 a.m EDT
Source: American Meat Institute
