‘Disgusting’ video exposing how hot dogs are actually made is making people want a hot dog
Whether you're at a festival, a footy match or even just fancy lunch on the simpler side - a hot dog is usually a popular go-to.
Known for their edible ease, not many hot dog guzzlers have given much thought as to how they get their distinctive cylindrical shape - or much about how they're made at all for that matter.
One video shows exactly that process and it's not garnered the response you'd think. See for yourself:
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Becoming synonymous with American fast-food culture, hot dogs are now one of the most popular delicacies in the United States.
According to The Ultimate Hot Dog Consumption Stats, a staggering '95 per cent' of American households eat hot dogs.
Breaking it down into quantities, the database also reports that the average U.S. resident consumes 'about 70 hot dogs per year'.
And that isn't even the most shocking stat - prepare yourself for this hefty number.
According to The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council - yes, it exists - about '20 billion' hot dogs are eaten every year in America alone.
Yes, you read that correctly.
With a loyal fanbase, it's surprising that not many people actually know what goes into the process of creating their beloved meat treat.
A 'How It's Made' video was uploaded to YouTube, educating viewers with some intense behind-the-scenes footage.
The video does exactly what it says on the tin with no graphic detail spared.
It explains the first step is to gather 'trimmings' which are then grounded up by pushing the cuts through grated metal plates.
Food starch, salt and other flavourings are then added to the meat.
On the dryer side at this point - this mixture is certainly nowhere becoming a juicy hot dog just yet.
Water is then added alongside corn syrup and everything is blended together in a big vat.
It is meant to help 'disperse the ingredients' and make the hot dogs 'juicier'.
Yet another machine is added to the process as it purees the meat batter into a 'fine emulsion'.
The beige batter looks the furthest thing from 'fine' at this point.
Once the batter is done, the video explains a little more about the 'tubing and stuffing' process. After the meat is all neatly cased, the casings are put through a 'liquid smoke shower' before going in the oven.
The dogs are then drenched in 'cold salty water' before getting packaged up.
The short video has since received over 89 million views, 177k likes and dozens of thousands of comments.
Funnily enough, the footage didn't seem to have much of an effect on viewers at all.
If anything - the video brought about an adverse reaction.
"I love how people use stuff like this as a negative," one YouTube user commented, "it's like, no, we managed to make the crappest part of an animal taste delicious. It's efficient and reduces waste, it's pretty genius."
Also commenting on the industriousness of the hot dog industry, a second added: "As 'gross' as some may think this is, I’m just glad these precious animals don’t go to waste and we use up every ounce of their meat. Who doesn’t love a juicy hot dog!?"
A third echoed a similar thought, even stating how 'miraculous' the process was.
They wrote: "Everyone's complaining about how disgusting this is when really this is just taking parts that would otherwise be wasted from a butchered animal and miraculously turning it into something tasty for the masses to consume."
'Miraculous' certainly is not the first word that comes to mind when watching the gloopy meat batter mixture.
"People say not to watch this, but honestly, it's just making me want a hotdog," admitted one person.
Another revealed that the video had 'no effect' on them, adding that they still find hot dogs 'delicious'.
"This doesn't make me want to eat them any less," chimed in another, "if anything I wanna eat one right now."
The video even acted as inspiration for one YouTube user's evening meal.
"Well I know what I'm having for dinner now," they posted just before dropping their go-to dog recipe, "love grilled hot dogs with mustard and minced onion."
For others, the video came as somewhat of a pleasant surprise.
"I was actually expecting much worse but actually I'm amazed," one added, "this is great and got me all hungry, amazing how we don't waste anything. I want a hotdog now."
A final YouTube user commented: "This is not half as bad as I thought it would be. Bring those dogs to my buns right now!"
Hot diggity dog indeed.
Topics: Food And Drink, YouTube, Weird
Rhiannon Ingle