Brats Vs Hot Dogs: What's Actually Inside Them, And Why They Taste Different - Tasting Table

Bratwurst and Frankfurters are both German-origin sausages made in casings, but they differ in what goes inside them. Bratwurst traces back to Nuremberg and has been made since at least the 1300s. It is commonly made from ground pork, beef, or veal, with coarse grinding and seasonings such as ginger, nutmeg, coriander, lemon zest, or caraway. Frankfurters come from Frankfurt and arrived in America in the early 1900s. They can use pork, beef, chicken, or turkey, ground into a paste, which creates a different texture and a characteristic snap. Frankfurters also tend to include more preservatives and sodium, and they are cooked differently.

"The only things brats and hot dogs have in common is that they're from the same meat-in-casings family, and that they both have roots in Germany. When it comes to both taste and texture, bratwurst sausages are quite different from Frankfurters, and that difference is essentially down to what actually goes inside them."

"The history of these sausages can be traced to Nuremberg in Germany, where they have existed at least since the 1300s. German immigrants brought the bratwurst to America in the 1920s (fun fact: Madison, Wisconsin, is known as the bratwurst capital of the world today). The sausages are usually made using ground pork, beef, or veal. When it comes to texture, bratwurst sausage meat is ground coarsely and seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, coriander, lemon zest or caraway, giving it a complex and vibrant flavor."

"Frankfurters come from, you guessed it, Frankfurt. They made their way to America in the early 1900s, and have become intractably linked with American culture since, in the form of the hot dog. The meat used to make Frankfurters can come from pork, beef, chicken, and turkey, which is ground to a paste ( hence the use of trimmings when they're made), which gives them a very different texture from the coarse brats - and the characteristic snap. Frankfurters also have more preservatives and sodium. The biggest difference though, is when it comes to cooking them."

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