The semiotics of the hot dog

[hjshorter]

Not to mention walking into things that can't be seen when one is holding their head at the unnatural angle required in order to keep their nose up so high. And, then, people can see up your nose, and where do you think the term "Snotty" came from, after all?

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I don't think Jack was trying to be snotty, merely discussing a perceived cultural difference. He also came out resolutely against frou-frou 20 course tasting menus, after all.

[KOK]

What about the legions of single men out there who may or may not admit to cutting up a package of hot dogs into a pot with a can of baked beans and eating while watching TV ...out of the pot.

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I'm too lazy to even bother heating up the pan

If a hot dogs and champagne meal was good enough for Marlene Dietrich, it's good enough for me.

Thanks,

Kevin

[jsolomon]

The hot-dog is an American every-person's food that really fits in with our psyche as a culture. We are the culture who wants our heroes to be "normal people" i.e. blue-collar such as John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, Abraham Lincoln--he did grow up in a log cabin--and Davey Crocket. We idolize the Dukes of Hazzard, and every American who can lay true claim to appreciating a true hot dog really enjoyed "Smoky and the Bandit".

It's a bourgeois food that resonates with our "Sixteen Ton" society where we have to eat on the run while we're working like hell to go one step forward and two steps back.

The same thing with a hamburger. They are meant to be eaten while there are distractions occuring. That is why the buns aren't grilled like a reuben.

[BarbaraY]

I rarely eat hot dogs, especially at home, but camping is another story. Even in camp they're only lunch, never dinner.

Camping in the Sierra last summer. Nathans rule!

edited to get the pictures right

Edited January 24, 2006 by BarbaraY (log)

[Rebecca263]

JSolomon, those are very interesting observations. My idea of a hot dog meal is a causal family gathering, where there are also grilled vegetables and other meats done on a grill. I associate both hamburgers and hot dogs with family picnics, although in the past few years most hot dogs that I have eaten have been at hot dog shops, and have a real excursion for us. For some reason I just don't do hot dogs at home. I DO have a fond memory of being taken to a beach pier for a fried hot dog meal in a rain storm as a child, as well. This was singular for me, I believe, because my parents didn't really think of eating as a casual activity, so the novelty of eating a meal in our car (a planned for meal, too!) stands out for me. I'm about middle aged, middle class, second generation American, and my parents were both from very hands on food families, with accomplished cooks on all ends, so perhaps my idea is different than the mainstream? I remember my father discussing the merits of the local kosher butcher's hot dogs over some hot dogs he remembered from his hometown of Revere, MA, with a visitor to our home. My childhood dogs came out beneath, in his mind, but I remember loving the spicy, beefy grilled flavor, and the bite! This was over 25 years ago, so perhaps I come from a family of foodies, and I am just now noticing it. Hmm.

[MarketStEl]

60 of 100 calories when we're talking Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dogs.

The fact that organic hot dogs are made...or that vegetarians buy their kids* hot dogs made from soy beans says how important these things are to some of us here in the U.S.

*Hell.  They eat them, too.

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See upthread for my opinion of uncured hot dogs.

But hey, it's a free country. If people want to feel virtuous while eating "junk" food, let them. As for me, I'll revel in all its adulterated, bad-for-you glory.

[Pan]

jsolomon, I thought that Lincoln actually had a middle-class upbringing, log cabin or not, but the fact that the mythology is that he had a humble birth merely reinforces your point about Americans wanting to believe our heroes and rulers are "ordinary people like us." That's why multi-millionaire CEOs of multinational corporations who come from old money and went to exclusive private schools from nursery school through law school pretend to be "regular guys" when they campaign for office in the US. And eating hotdogs is very much part of their campaigns.

[jsolomon]

I want to see one of them dirty and nasty from working calves chomping on a mountain oyster and drinking warm Busch light. Then I would know they were one of us.

[annanstee]

They have traditionally been a staple for families with budget constraints (sometimes to a fault perhaps  ).

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Or in my case, a four year old

[Carrot Top]

Then I would know they were one of us.

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Grrrr. Yeah. Chomp.

Watch that "us", buddy.

But here's a note on the subject from Vladimir Estragon. Wonder if he ever chomped on a mountain oyster during calving. . .

"Though regarded with disdain by the chic, and horror by the alfalfa-sprout crowd, hot-dogs are flat-out wonderful. And versatile. Dripping ith hot onions and ball-park mustard from a Sabrett man, they taste like New York; served in little cardboard doo-hickeys and called frankfurters, they taste like America. They also make no unreasonable demands on the home cook."

[Carrot Top]

Or in my case, a four year old 

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Hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries.

Someone should write a song about them. . . Raffi maybe?

[jamiemaw]

It Takes A Nation To Grill A Dog

For anyone familiar with the unarguable provenance of quality British bangers, Jack’s plaintive cry for help might at first seem quizzical. After all, sausages rate second only to chicken tikka as the British National Dish. Whoops, I'm sorry, that's Jordan.

But clearly Jack is a chap of quality – whom I personally believe can cut the mustard – and so I should like to leap to his defense. But there are several cultural disconnects at work here, each of which, I suspect, describes significant divergences between the culinary semiotics (although I vastly prefer semiotic-free dogs) of New World and Old.

To wit:

1. Great Britain's Post-War food and steel shortages, and adulterated baked goods;

2. The unknown science of outdoor grilling in the UK (Baden Powell completely skipped the Boy meets Grill chapter);

3. We incinerated our witches over open flame; you merely drew and quartered yours. (I grant you this explains your superior butchers);

4. The lingering grasp of the class system there; and

5. The absolute requirement of the English chattering classes to take their meals at table, even on the battlefield.

So precisely how do these points connect, and how do they help in excusing Jack? Let's begin, shall we . . .

Although hot dogs, and their forbears, have been extant for centuries (it didn’t take as much imagination to place a sausage in a bun as you might think, and much less than, say, eating the first oyster), mass production of same did not begin in earnest until after the Second War.

In the late 40’s though, Great Britain was still severely constrained by food shortages, so much so that hungry Brits stormed the Commonwealth countries and America in the hundreds of thousands. Journeyman pay at the time was several times in Sydney what it was in the English Midlands.

And food was prolific in the colonies, as was the move to its mass production and the introduction of frozen and increasingly processed foodstuffs for all the citizens. In North America it was the profligate era of Ike-and-Mamie food, backyard cookouts and ersatz aprons: Leisure became an industry, as did leisure food.

But I digress. Because also lagging Britain’s postwar food recovery was something much worse. Bangers and mash, long before England rediscovered its culinary roots under a leaf of arugula in 1989, was still very much a below-the-stairs, working man’s dish.

And add to that a crippling shortage of quality tensile steels that led to fewer than 700 barbeque grill units being produced in the post-war period 1947 – 1951! Those that were produced, although of stout manufacture, were painted the same shade of British Racing Green as period lawnmowers and were relegated to the bottom of the garden; in time they became geranium incubators.

Provision of heat in barbeques was provided by coal laid down in a pan beneath grills that were adjusted by Morris Minor window handles that, not unlike post-war British lovemaking, would slowly lower the protein in question, or more correctly, the questionable protein, down to assume the position. Once there, and unlike modern British lovemaking, especially in the case of Mr. Jude Law, it would be allowed to lie about for some time.

Even today British grills look like solar-powered alien terrestrial vehicles, although

this version, a mere $2,000 is actually fuelled by charcoal. And this less expensive model, at about $200, is also charcoal-powered, but couldn’t get Jenna Jameson hot.

Those few Englishmen who took up the culinary garden arts were looked down upon, even as they affected sporty cravats, matching paisley oven mitts, asbestos pith helmets festooned with specialized grilling goggles, A-1 admixtures and fine Sheffield-plate flipping, stabbing and garrotting tools. But it really wasn’t done to cook outdoors, you see, (more Jeevish than Bertie) except amongst the more bohemian classes.

So therein, quite simply really, lies the difference. Quality dogs being neither boiled nor griddled -- but grilled – requires a Barbecue Nation. But that culture – the culture of men scrumming around outdoor shrines to open fire with cold beer ahand – simply does not exist in the British Isles.

Compare and contrast the pasty-complexioned Brit with the North American or Australian male, whose love of open fire and smoke reveals a primal urge that also explains excellence in rugby football. Just look at our tools for one: Gigantic spatulas with serrated cutting edges so fierce as to decapitate interloping louts with but a single slice; hefty grate lifters and swabbing brushes; tongs long enough to retrieve errant ping pong balls from beneath the woodpile . . . from next door!

But if you have ever seen an Englishman try to grill, then you will know exactly what a pathetic spectacle it is: Steaks that you can read a newspaper through (often macerated in salad dressing for some reason), drizzly weather, sparky Welsh coal, warm beer and nasty sunburns do not a party make. As don’t ‘potted’ clumps of suspicious seafood during British heat waves, when the needle can easily push past 70.

This hilarious phenomenon of a barbeque-challenged nation was broadly acknowledged in the popular cuture of the swinging sixties. During the Harold Wilson regnum it was famously enshrined by Alan J. Lerner in the 1964 musical – ‘My Fair Lady’ – in the song “Why Can’t the English . . . Learn How to Steak?”

Other attempts have been made by the Brits to come to terms with both Hot Dog and Barbeque culture, but it has been half-hearted at best. For a time, ‘links-style’ golf courses became popular across the land, but these proved but a passing fad. And you may have noticed that Jack himself, as his food blogs attest, enjoys a good banger too, but fried on the Aga, and eaten with cutlery. Perhaps it’s best he eat his sausage sitting down, though; it’s safer when your tongue’s so firmly in chic.

And let us not forget that Jack’s version of outdoor cooking comes in the form of an oven, not a grill. In fact his outdoor oven, I’ve covetously noticed, is just large enough to make an installment on global warming. No harm in that: it rains a lot in the Isles, even in July, and Cambridge is the coldest town in England, although this week that torch is passed to Winchester where a chill wind passed through.

Strangely, Jack ignores the fact that England is the greatest sandwich nation on earth. The ultimate white bread finger food was invented there after all, by a card sharp parvenu, the Earl of. Stranger still, Sandwich's ancestral home was but a stone's throw from Jack's pizza oven in Cambridge. Do you see a theme here?

Back to sandwiches, now chains such as Boots the Chemist and Prêt a Manger offer staggering assortments of the sarnie species, divided, like Tory politics under Thatcher, into equally strident camps of 'Wets' (leaky lobster mayonnaise from Prêt) and 'Drys' (assorted 'Italian' luncheon meats, headcheese, scant marg on mealy brown from Boots). The British Sandwich Association cosely monitors the proceedings.

Truth be known, we have also noticed that Jack permits that other ubiquitous finger food – pizza – to be fired in his outdoor oven. But only, as I’ve heard from the usual sources, upon written application.

Edited January 25, 2006 by jamiemaw (log)

[Rebecca263]

As usual, Mr.Maw, you've enlightened and leavened! I have had an epiphany, a change of heart, a growth in grok, and I now cast a teary eye and open arms towards our dear Jackal10. Jackal10, come for a visit, dear! Even in NJ we have summer grilling, and you can bring some lovely British ale and please, a scotch egg? And we will have a meal of some lovely American 'dogs'. Well, I only have a mere newspaper grill, but you can make the rounds. There are many eGulleteers here in NJ/NY/PA... and many of them enjoy a good drink with their hot dog, fresh off the grill. Why, you can visit the Amazing Hot Dog purveyors, as well.

[Tepee]

Indeed, England is the greatest sandwich nation in the world. Think of the amazing combinations (in varying degrees of nutritive value) one can have in the sandwich as well as the bread. This is not to argue the superiority of the sandwich (er...swinging off tangent already)...but, rather, to me, I'd pick a Hot Dog over a sandwich if I'm hungry and don't want to think too much... satisfy a craving so to speak I have to have my coney dog every 2 months or so. Just my 2 sen.

Edited January 25, 2006 by Tepee (log)

[jackal10]

I appreciate Mr Maw's generous words, almost as much as his girth..

However I should point out that the National Dish, for those of us over a certain age, is http://www.nigella.com/

As for sandwiches, do not ignore the wonders of the hot bacon sarnie...

[Pontormo]

....and the Chip Buddy.

However, kind sirs, I must remember the rules of good manners on eGullet when it comes to politics and chauvanism when I beg to differ.

I personally am grateful for the simple, amazing graces of the Italian sandwich. Freshly sliced, heavily scented roast pork in between two pieces of moist, thick bread, ahh! Fried zucchini blossoms and ham on focaccia....ahhhh!

Thanks to such wonders and the excesses of Italian-American culture, we have some of the greatest of them all: the eggplant or the meatball sub!

However, we digress. Getting back to the hot dog on a roll, there is something to be said for the virtue of bread sandwiching something hot, whether vegetable or a tube of spicy ground meat.

Edited January 25, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[Carrot Top]

I dunno. Marvellous prose in that piece and much for the mind to linger upon in fascination, attempting to visualize the *exact* things he is talking about - but mostly what I took away from it is that hot dogs, in their current form in the United States - in the poverty of their makings - can be directly linked to all the hungry Brits who came here after the War. Something had to be made quickly and inexpensively that they would eat and eat happily without grumbling about it being too "spicy". And obviously something had to be made that would go with "beans on toast" which as we know, is a most British staple, and quite, uh. . .tasty?

American hot-dogs are a product made for hungry Brits.

Why. . .thank you, Jack! Thank you, and all of your compatriots!

[jackal10]

Its a chip butty - from the butter, an essential ingredient

However let me proudly present Westlers, Britain's No 1 Hot Dog.

Pretty well universally if offered a Hot Dog, this is what you will get, from a tin. Note the serving suggestions. As it says

"7 out of 10 hot dogs eaten outside of the home are from the Westlers stable! The biggest range from the biggest brand on the market includes many different sizes, from standard Hot Dogs through to the favourite Jumbo Hot Dogs! These are ideal for Mobile and Static Caterers, Fast Food outlets and Sporting events....Products are ideal for:

Cinemas

Theme Parks

Stadia & Sporting Events

Pubs, Bars & Bistros

Leisure Outlets

For the contract range (with chicken) "Contract Hot Dogs

Currently supplying 75% of UK local authorities, Westler Foods Contracts Range has the widest range on the market,...Westlers Contract range has been developed specifically to cater for the demands faced by those catering for children."

http://www.westlerfoods.com/products/hotdogs.html

Read it and weep...

Edited January 25, 2006 by jackal10 (log)

[Pontormo]

Sorry, my stepfather's Manchester roots and all....must not enunciate his "t" as crisply as the Eton boys...

[crinoidgirl]

However let me proudly present Westlers, Britain's No 1 Hot Dog.

Pretty well universally if offered a Hot Dog, this is what you will get, from a tin.

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CANNED HOT DOGS?!?!

(urp)

[Carrot Top]

"Chip- buddy" or "chip-butty". . .sadly I must inform you that neither one exists in Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (such publishing company perched proudly on The Strand, you know, right-o) under "chip".

This startled me. I had to presume that apparently in the British mind, the Chip Butty is a real thing, a real word, unlike our "hot-dog", a transfigured bit of slang.

Fifty-five entries in this dictionary based upon "chip" and nary a butty.

Finally I did find the entry under "butty". With a note about jam.

Why did they insist on doing that backwards?

Let's give this chip-butty thing some respect! Put it in the dictionary in the proper form! Not hidden, backwards, where one has to search for it.

Crying shame.

At least in America our hot-dogs stand proud and loud, never hidden away.

[Carrot Top]

Oh! Has anyone brought up the subject of the "foot-long hot dog" yet?

Surely this exists solely in the US.

I would love to know how that came about.

[MarketStEl]

I dunno. Marvellous prose in that piece and much for the mind to linger upon in fascination, attempting to visualize the *exact* things he is talking about - but mostly what I took away from it is that hot dogs, in their current form in the United States - in the poverty of their makings - can be directly linked to all the hungry Brits who came here after the War. Something had to be made quickly and inexpensively that they would eat and eat happily without grumbling about it being too "spicy". And obviously something had to be made that would go with "beans on toast" which as we know, is a most British staple, and quite, uh. . .tasty?

American hot-dogs are a product made for hungry Brits.

Why. . .thank you, Jack! Thank you, and all of your compatriots!

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Wait. This creates a huge hole in the history of the frankfurter, down which we can pour thousands of historians, a hundred or so English professors (because they have theories of everything these days) and perhaps the semiotics faculty at SUNY Stony Brook--sorry, Stony Brook University.

The hole is this:

We know that the hot dog was really invented at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair) in 1904, in order to give the R.T. French Co. of Rochester, N.Y., something to go with its new yellow mustard introduced there, unless it was really invented by Abner Doubleday in 1869 because the fans at his new base ball games were complaining about having Tabasco sauce poured over them when they requested "red hots."

In any case, this gives us a span of some 40, or is that 80, years during which apparently no one ate a hot dog until ravenous, class-addled Brits came pouring through Ellis Island or the Washington Avenue immigration station or wherever it was that we processed people whose names ended in consonants rather than vowels.

How did this essential part of the American diet disappear completely from everywhere but print advertising for such a long period? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Jambalyle]

Where does one draw the line between hot dog and sausage?

Are "hot links" dogs or sausage?

How 'bout "Half Smokes" in DC?

[jamiemaw]

Oh! Has anyone brought up the subject of the "foot-long hot dog" yet?

Surely this exists solely in the US. 

I would love to know how that came about.

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No, we've had them for a good long time here as well. But of course for quite a while they've been known as 30-centimetre-long hot dogs.

Approximately yours,

J.

Edited January 25, 2006 by jamiemaw (log)