There are many tall tales about the way in which hot dogs are made, but the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council is eager to tell the real story. When poultry hot dogs are made, poultry trimmings are used. High speed, stainless steel choppers blend the meat, spices, ice chips and curing ingredients into an emulsion or batter. The mixture is continuously weighed to assure a proper balance of all ingredients. The most popular brands of hot dogs use cellulose casings, which are later removed.
Some wieners use natural casings, which remain on the wiener when it is eaten.
Once the casings are filled, they are linked into long strands of hot dogs and moved to the smokehouse, there they are fully cooked under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. They may be hardwood smoked for added color and flavor. After passing through the smoke and cook cycle, the hot dogs are showered in cool water. The individual links are then conveyed to the packaging equipment. When cellulose casings are used, the hot dogs are of exact size and weight.