# Just What is so Disgusting about Hot Dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 27, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781 "2023-11-27T18:40:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/21 "2023-11-27T19:51:08Z")
Someone putting ketchup on them! Other than that, they’re fine. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/22 "2023-11-27T20:02:20Z")
But the cheesy dogs? The ones with little orange colored squares of some unknown cheese like product. They good!! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/23 "2023-11-27T20:02:51Z")
Many people don’t think about how food is made or where the ingredients come from. Some imagine very sanitized versions of farms. Any incursion of reality into their notions is upsetting. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Have you never had mashed potatoes? Not sure where, but I once had “sausages” made by putting mashed potatoes into casings, which were then grilled. It was delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/24 "2023-11-27T20:04:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Sounds like that thing Jamie Oliver tried to argue, showing kids how they make chicken nuggets. In the UK, showing them the process made the kids not want them,\* but US kids still wanted nuggets. > > \*To be fair, it could just be that kids in the UK picked up on the sarcastic question while IS kids just thought he was offering free food, not realizing he’d still feed them anyways, just with his own homemade fried chicken. I saw that one! Jamie Oliver acted like a jerk, calling the US kids “brainwashed”. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/25 "2023-11-27T20:06:32Z")
Standard chicken/pork hot dogs are indeed disgusting, slimy, greasy, and cheap. Beef hot dogs are less gross. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/26 "2023-11-27T20:35:32Z")
I think a few folks here nailed it – it’s a combination of things: the unpredictability of the contents, the (lack of) cleanliness (rodent hairs – or worse – have been reported), and the grossness of the intermediate product that happens to resemble vomit. I mean, to use an old expression, what’s not to like? 🤢 Do I eat hot dogs? You bet! But as with all highly processed foods, I try to minimize the amount consumed. I doubt I have hot dogs more than a few times a year on average. And I try to minimize unhealthy ingredients and contamination by buying good quality all-beef franks – you can not only taste the difference, you also feel better because it’s real food – I always feel vaguely ill after eating a crappy hot dog. Maybe it’s from the mouse hairs. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/27 "2023-11-27T20:45:34Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I think a few folks here nailed it – it’s a combination of things: the unpredictability of the contents, the (lack of) cleanliness (rodent hairs – or worse – have been reported), Insect pieces, rodent hairs, etc exist in most processed food, and even often in fresh veggies. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/28 "2023-11-27T21:04:36Z")
See? I knew the hotdog was the least thing to be worried about. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/29 "2023-11-27T21:13:21Z")
I can only offer three anecdotes about hot dogs. One, I really dislike them, even though I like a lot of kinds of sausage. Two, my dogs won’t eat them, which is eerie, because they are not picky eaters. They’re … dogs. Three, my father worked in the Oscar Meyer factory in Madison when he was a student at U of Wisconsin. He never ate a hot dog ever again, and he didn’t really like talking about what went into them. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/30 "2023-11-27T21:30:29Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > One, I really dislike them, even though I like a lot of kinds of sausage. Two, my dogs won’t eat them, which is eerie, because they are not picky eaters. They’re … dogs. I wish to set you straight on the matter of dogs not being picky eaters. 😉 There are some foods – including meats – that Bernie would not touch. As a general rule, he’d eat almost anything that was even vaguely natural, but tended to turn up his nose at stuff that was highly processed, which included hot dogs. Cold cuts were hit or miss – he’d eat some, but not others. The stuff that moms all over the world pack their kids for lunch Bernie the dog did not consider edible. It’s like he had an aversion to preservatives or some other aspect of modern food over-processing. He was fine with burgers, though, and loved the McDonald’s kid’s cheeseburger. I can confirm from his birthday dinners that he also loved bacon-wrapped filet mignon on the grill, provided it was medium-rare, and the toothpick removed before serving His Majesty. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/31 "2023-11-27T21:40:43Z")
We hear about how indenous peoples in the Americas used every part of the buffalo as if this was the most noble of things. But when we moderns use every part of the cows and pigs it is somehow discusting. The commodities market is full of these byproducts. I used to purchase things for the pet food industry I worked in. Truck loads and truck loads of livers, speens, kidneys, even spray dried blood, representing a huge number of animals, are collected and prepared for market use somewhere. 60,000 lbs of spray dried blood is an impresive amount, and can be bought day after day. You want a truck load of spray dried blood? The only thing that takes time is the trucking. Where do you think gelatin comes from? It is rendered from hides and bones. Tallow and oil are also sold. Can you imagine the huge land fills of rotting animal parts their would be if we didn’t use these things? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/32 "2023-11-27T21:48:56Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Can you imagine the huge land fills of rotting animal parts their would be if we didn’t use these things? Eating things is a far more intimate act than using things for other purposes like pet food or candles or clothing. One of the oldest human instincts is to identify what we are eating and confirm that if it is safe. Even in the age of highly processed foods, many people still retain that instinct. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/33 "2023-11-27T21:49:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I suspect the horror over hot dogs has a lot more to do with hating poor people food than hating the hot dogs themselves. You bloody peasants should be buying more expensive foods! Agree with this. Only the little people eat hot dogs - it’s food for little kids, too. We adults who are successful are supposed to eat real sausages, like brats, with our beers! > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Where do you think gelatin comes from? It is rendered from hides and bones. Tallow and oil are also sold. Yep - and check the ingredients for your soap bar - if it’s a mass-produced bar, it likely contains sodium “tallowate” - take a guess where that comes from. Rubbing that stuff all over my wet body seems grosser than eating an occasional hot dog, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/34 "2023-11-27T21:54:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Insect pieces, rodent hairs, etc exist in most processed food, and even often in fresh veggies And the maximum levels of contaminants allowed is not so much about food safety as it is about economics; the max level is set just below the point at which such contaminants will be noticeable and people won’t buy it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/35 "2023-11-27T21:56:49Z")
Hebrew National. The guy who owns Nathan’s is a MAGAt and will get none of my money. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/36 "2023-11-27T22:05:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > One of the oldest human instincts is to identify what we are eating and confirm that if it is safe. Offer something unfamiliar (or even something familiar) to a dog and watch what he does. He will carefully sniff with his hypersensitive canine nose and then make a decision. And that decision, as I noted previously, may involve rejecting mainstream people foods like hot dogs. He also rejected many mass-market cold cuts, but was pleased to accept the high-end ones from Pusateri’s deli counter, labelled as “preservative free” and costing five times as much as the stuff in the ordinary grocery store! Grocery-store baloney? Sniff-sniff … blech! Pusateri’s European bologna? Sniff-sniff … snatch! Inhale! 🐕 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/37 "2023-11-27T22:09:29Z")
In the olden days hot dogs were stuffed with grains and other less identifiable stuff to make them as cheap as possible, along with organ meats (called beef by-products) and other cow parts. I wouldn’t eat anything at a 1930s ballpark. That gave the kosher producers - Hebrew National is probably the best known, but there were dozens - a niche to proclaim that they made “All-Beef” hot dogs. They used the low-end beef parts like everybody else, but no grains or “stuff”. And by low-end, I mean what the industry calls “beef trimmings” - the excess cut off when shaping parts of the cow into stakes and chops. Still good meat but not suitable for sale as is. No organ meat: that has to be specifically mentioned today. Over time pretty much the entire industry has moved to beef trimmings. The USDA allows no more 3.5% fillers. These days that would be cornstarch or dried milk powder or food starch. A quick search tells me that no major brands use anything but beef and spices and occasionally corn syrup or other sweetener. With minor brands competing on price, check the ingredients list carefully. It’s also doubtful that pink slime is used in any major brands. They have preservatives, to be sure, but their texture comes from grinding, with some high-end brands being ground twice. With the heart healthy diet I’m “supposed” to stick to, I eat only Hebrew National 97% fat-free hotdogs. Amazingly, they don’t taste much different. They do have potato starch added to a long list of chemicals that are also used by every other major brand. Eating a hot dog has little to no health risks. Eating a half dozen at a picnic drives up fat and sodium content way over what you should have in a day. Moderation always wins out. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/38 "2023-11-27T22:17:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I wish to set you straight on the matter of dogs not being picky eaters. 😉 There are some foods – including meats – that Bernie would not touch. As a general rule, he’d eat almost anything that was even vaguely natural, but tended to turn up his nose at stuff that was highly processed, which included hot dogs. Cold cuts were hit or miss – he’d eat some, but not others. The stuff that moms all over the world pack their kids for lunch Bernie the dog did not consider edible. It’s like he had an aversion to preservatives or some other aspect of modern food over-processing. He was fine with burgers, though, and loved the McDonald’s kid’s cheeseburger. I can confirm from his birthday dinners that he also loved bacon-wrapped filet mignon on the grill, provided it was medium-rare, and the toothpick removed before serving His Majesty. Seems like my dogs follow Bernie’s blog. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/39 "2023-11-27T22:29:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The USDA allows no more 3.5% fillers. These days that would be cornstarch or dried milk powder or food starch. A quick search tells me that no major brands use anything but beef and spices and occasionally corn syrup or other sweetener. > > … With the heart healthy diet I’m “supposed” to stick to, I eat only Hebrew National 97% fat-free hotdogs. Amazingly, they don’t taste much different. They do have potato starch added to a long list of chemicals that are also used by every other major brand. There appears to be the implication here that in the modern era, mass-market big name hot dogs are all about the same and are all OK. While you may have a point about the improvements in standards of safety and cleanliness over the years, there are still significant quality difference between brands of hot dogs. You seem to acknowledge this yourself when say you eat only Hebrew National. Back when that was an option, I’d buy similar Jewish-themed kosher hot dogs, because they were _ **objectively** _ better than than regular stuff – tasted better, and digested better. My cite: my dog Bernie and his miraculous nose, my own taste perceptions, and my tummy. It’s been a while since I’ve driven to the Big City, and here in suburbia the kosher hot dogs are scarce. But I found a local brand – Schneider’s all-beef Jumbos – that sits as well with me as the kosher stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781/40 "2023-11-27T22:30:53Z")
You know what’s really disgusting? Hunger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-what-is-so-disgusting-about-hot-dogs/993781.md?page=3)