Listen, unless you know what's in a hotdog, shut the hell up.

The BBQ Pit
1

I’ve seen this a number of times, in general conversation and all over this board, most recently in Scyllas vegi thread and it never fails to get under my skin as some ignorance I need to stomp on a little. To wit:

which was quickly addressed,

and was mentioned one last time:

Which, I suppose, begs the question: do you guys really know what’s in hotdogs? Have you ever seen them made or made them yourselves?
Answers people give are usually similar to Enders and the allusion from vanilla, but I sincerely doubt you folks have a clue, really. What people end up describing is actually sausage or chorizo and, get this, there is a difference.

Now, I can’t speak for every manufacturer (or, technically, any), but I’ve seen hotdogs made at the Hormel plant in MN and after having seen them made, I had my first hotdog in years, and felt just fine about it. The meats (and spices) I saw going into the hopper looked just fine and perfectly edible to me before getting pureed and encased.

Are there hotdogs that are made of “pieces-parts” and/or “sub-standard” parts or “leftovers” (read: lips and assholes), sure, probably, but if you buy Bargain Bill’s Meat-Like Hotdog or Uncle Jim’s Roadside Weiners, don’t be surprised if you’re getting something less than quality meats.

Since I’m kinda on the subject: SPAM, which, BTW stands for Shoulder of Pork And haM, is exactly that (well, plus some spices.) It’s not some great evil conglomeration of meat pieces ground up and stuffed in a can, people, it’s decent looking meats ground up, poured in can, enclosed and cooked, along with 100,000 other cans, in one big-ass serpentine oven.

So cut the bullshit, folks. If you’re thinking your food is made of junk, shell out for better food or shut the fuck up.

2

I thought SPAM stood for SPiced hAM.

3

Who cares?

I mean, they are bad for us anyway you look at it, since they are high in fat.

But…they are so GOOD to eat!

So, I eat them occasionally, and enjoy every single bite. Yummmmmmy. I don’t want to know what is in them. I just enjoy.

Scotti:)

4

Nope. Shoulder of pork and ham, my friend. Mind you, just because I’ve seen this made and would argue that it is, in fact, decent meat going into it, I’ve never had any. Just as I’m not really one for bologne (though that’s really just rolled out hotdogs.)

5

“Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little hot dogs are made of.”

BTW, thinksnow, your indignation about people getting hot dogs wrong would work better if you had gotten SPAM right. SPAM does not mean Shoulder of Pork and Ham; never did. That’s some of the ingredients, not the name.

sauron, your much closer, and indeed arguably correct - SPAM was originally marketed as Hormel’s Spiced Ham. Technically, though SPAM doesn’t mean anything .

Sua

6

Well, see, that’s my point,** Scottie**. They might be high in fat, but they are not high in asses, lips, ears or kidneys, so if you want to get some low-fat ones, or turkey ones, you can do so without thinking your just getting low-fat asses and lips.

That’s all I’m saying.

7

I thought it stood for SPiced hAM as well. Besides, isn’t shoulder of pork and ham redundant?

Homer: So you’re saying you’re never going to eat any animal ever again?

Lisa: Yes.

Homer: What about bacon?

Lisa: No.

Homer: Ham?

Lisa: No.

Homer: Porkchops?

Lisa: Dad! Those all come from the same animal!

Homer: Sure Lisa, some magical, wonderful animal.

8

Sua, you might be right, and I checked that site, too, but I was told that it, at least internal to Hormel was derived from SoPAM, so that’s what I’m sticking to (not to say that SPiced hAM is unreasonable, just it’s not what I was told by the people that actually make the shit.)

9

I swear, Alphagene is right. We’ve gotta reconfigure the software to produce a pop-up quiz on Cecil’s columns every 20 posts or so – wrong answer and you can’t post for a week.

::sigh:: Here’s an obscure columnist that no one has ever heard of on the subject of Spam

10

Yes! My very own pit thread. Well, I have to share it with some people, but they’re not even close to the coolness factor of yours truly so I won’t deem them worthy enough to be counted. This thread is all mine.

I am the anti-cecil. I am Ender Ignorceed and I travel across the great pioneer trails of the midwest dropping seeds of ignorance wherever I can. I am Ender Sinclair and I have come to tell you the truth about hot dogs [sub]and SPAM[/sub]!

They’re made of people! Hot dogs are made of people! Well, the shoulders of people anyway. OK, the left shoulders of people because those are naturally spicy.

Think, think, think…c’mon man. Read what I wrote. EVERY ANIMAL?!? Surely I was jesting. Just a tad? A little? I mean, no one honestly believes they go in hunt of the White Tiger meat through the Luxor in Vegas to get hot dogs. They don’t clone the Dodo or dive through the lakes to get fresh Duckbilled platymeat. I was fibbing a little.

I know hot dogs are made with real meat from one (or maybe two) barnyard animals. And, for the record, I find kosher hot dogs (which aren’t made from pigs) to be so much more tasty.

11

Well, gee, I thought my reference to hot dogs would be gotten as a humorous reference to (my favorite human being)Ralph Nader, who KNOWS whats in hot dogs and hasn’t eaten one in manny years.
I guess I forgot the smilie face to let you know.
Hey, nobody’s ever died from eating a hot dog…

12

Well, really baby…I don’t CARE what is actually IN them.

They taste good.

And I would prefer that NO ONE tell me what is in them.

I quit eating veal after that thing on PBS showing how the little calves are mistreated. I never eat lamb. rabbit or venison because of Disney movies.

I don’t eat fish because of the worm factor…again courtesy of PBS…

I prefer to eat unhindered by knowledge. The less I know, the better it tasted. Works for me.

13

Sausage inna bun! Who wants one! I’m cutting me own throat at these prices!!!

14

Here’s an article on what one company puts in their hot dogs. Doesn’t sound too bad, except for the spleens and feet. I was actually more upset at the “pass the ketchup!” comment at the end of the article. Philistine.

15

Once, I was riding down Harbison Blvd. and I choked on a hot dog…I had tried to eat half of it at once, didn’t work so well. I made a gagging noise and my mother slapped me on the back, I gagged it up promptly and am still alive. But, one day, I won’t be so lucky…

Someone’s died from EVERYTHING. Hot dogs will one day strike fear into the hearts of fast food consumers everywhere (and not just from the mystery ingredients)

16

Cecil dealt with why it’s called Spam

Spiced HAM

PC

17

I know what’s in a hot dog!!

From: Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, from the Culinary Institute of America

And, that my friends, is the story of the hot dog.

This, of course would be considered a high-quality recipe, and if you’re buying the cheap crap, I’m sure you’ll be getting less than quality meat. But, this is basically what a good hot dog is made of.

18

He also believes eating a hot dog is unsafe at any speed. :slight_smile:

19

Well, I work for Oscar Mayer slicing and packaging Bologna right downstairs from where they make and package hot dogs.
Do I qualify to speak?

20

Jesus fuck! Okay, I admitted I might be wrong on the origin of the word “SPAM,” but I tell it to you thusly, that is what I was told by a Hormel employee while standing not 10 (ten) feet from the equipment that cans and cooks the product. <sheesh>

Mistress** Kricket**, you are always welcome to speak, but in this case, I would welcome your input, as I’m certain you’ve got information of a non-pieces-parts nature to add.