BIOVELA celebrates International Hot Dog Day and shares tips on how to make the perfect hot dog

International Hot Dog Day is celebrated worldwide on 23 July. "The BIOVELA Group invites you to recall the history of this dish and shares tips for making the perfect hot dog. 

"The story of the birth of Hot Dogs

Culinary historians still disagree on how the hot dog and its name came about. One version is that in 1904, Anton Feuchtwanger, a Bavarian, was selling hot sausages at a trade fair in Louisiana and, to prevent rich buyers from getting burnt and getting their hands dirty, he gave them white gloves to wear when eating them. Since most of the gloves were never returned, Feuchtwanger began to run out. He asked his cousin, a baker, to help him bake elongated buns into which the sausages could be inserted - the precursor to the hot dog.

The second version tells a very different story of the hot dog: the term "hot dog" was already in use in 1894 at Yale, where elongated "dog carts" were parked outside the students' dormitories and hot dogs were sold from them. However, other sources point to an even earlier origin of the term 'hot dog', suggesting that dachshund sausages were brought to America by German immigrants, whose dachshund puppies attracted ridicule and comparisons with sausages. The name was later applied to the German favourite Frankfurt sausages, the 'little dogs'. Still later, the term was transformed into the well-known 'hot dog'.

Sausage festival

"BIOVELA Group, which produces around 7,561 tonnes of sausages a year, decided to celebrate this day with its colleagues by organising the Sausage Festival. At the Utena plant, all employees were treated to a special hot dog feast with Bratwurst sausages and various condiments. The festival also included a competition to see which employee could eat a hot dog the fastest. The best time recorded was 28 seconds! In the festival area, everyone was also treated to a "bio-vegan" blue punch, there was music, a lounge area, and Cloud Kitchen Catering, a restaurant on wheels, made sure that all the employees enjoyed the perfect hot dog.

"It's always fun to get together to celebrate the holidays, and it's even more fun when the holidays are about our passion - food. It was a challenge to bring together around 1,600 employees, so we planned the event carefully in advance. As the largest employer in the Utena region, we are responsible for all of our employees, so we are happy to be together not only to work, to achieve common goals, but also to have fun", says Ieva Ragauskaitė, Director of the Human Resources Department.

How to make the perfect hot dog

For those who want to make the perfect hot dog, BIOVELA food experience expert Lukas Semeževičius shares his tips:

• Sausages

Typically, hot dogs are made using sausages that need to be warmed in hot water or steamed. Many commercially available sausages are already cooked, so you don't need to cook them for long periods of time - just heat them up and shape them into hot dogs.

It is important to note that if you are considering making hot dogs outdoors, or grilling sausages, choose ones that can be grilled. As the barbecue culture in Lithuania grows, so does the availability of grilled sausages. BIOVELA has a large selection of different sausages for your tastiest moments!

• Bun

There are many different types of hot dog buns available in the shops, from the usual yeast buns to the latest trend - potato buns. Choose your hot dog bun according to the ingredients you use. If you want a more intense flavour and use traditional additives, then yeast buns are perfect. If, however, you want extra flavour, then sweet buttery hot dog buns are perfect.

You can also choose which type of bun you want to use - French or American. French buns are great for when you just want a hot dog with sauces, but if you want to create a more substantial hot dog, go for American buns.

• Sauces

The top 3 most popular sauces are unmissable. These are mustard, tomato sauce and mayonnaise. In many cases, all three of these sauces are mixed into one hot dog.

However, hotdogs also benefit from more intensely flavoured sauces, such as BBQ sauce with whisky, mayonnaise sriracha or spicy mustard sauce.

You can also introduce additional flavours by using refreshing sauces such as tzatziki, salsa bianca or romesco (oven-baked paprika sauce).

• Condiments

The range of additional condiments is enormous and highly individual. However, here are some tips on how to choose the right condiment.

If you want extra acidity, pickles are perfect. For more crunch, there's nothing better than fried, dried onions. If you like it spicier, add chopped jalapenos, and a spoonful of beans or corn will add both extra flavour and nutritional value.