Well shoot … you guys just totally rewrote my lunch plans. I’m thinkin’ 4 dogs: two with chili & two with ketchup. All with buns. And none of that nasty yellow stuff anywhere in sight.
To the OP’s question. IMO the meat alone *can *be a hot dog. The meat+bun *is *a hot dog.
Hot dog = meat for me.
A “hot dog” is an ingredient used to make “hot dogs.” The wiener by itself is indeed a “hot dog” but when consumed by itself, you’re not eating the sandwich we call “hot dogs”; you’re eating a hot dog wiener or frank. And just because there’s a piece of sausage in a bun, it’s not a “hot dog” either. A bratwurst or polish sausage in a bun isn’t a meager “hot dog”; it’s x in a bun.