The Key Difference Between Hot Dogs And Bologna

No one would easily confuse a hot dog with a slice of bologna. After all, one is tube-shaped and the other is a flat circle. Believe it or not, that's not the important distinction. The real difference between hot dogs and bologna comes down to the casing.

Essentially, all hot dogs and bologna are emulsified products. These processed meats are made by mixing finely chopped beef and/or pork trimmings with fat, liquid, emulsifiers, spices, salt, and ice together in a high-velocity machine. A dense paste is the result. 

For hot dogs, this pulp goes into a cellulose casing to be smoked and then cooked. After cooling, the casing is peeled away prior to packaging. Bologna can be placed in a variety of casings— hog, beef, smoked collagen, or a fibrous casing. Plastic can also be used. Remember the red ring your mother had to peel off before frying the bologna for your sandwiches?

In the United States, bologna is classified as a cured or smoked sausage, per the USDA, which also includes hot dogs and different types of sausages. Depending on the manufacturer, different spices and blends of meats can be utilized in bologna recipes. The only mandatory rule is that the label has to indicate the type of meat in the package. For instance, chicken bologna has to include poultry parts and be bologna. It can't be a package of ground chicken.

The standard seasoning blend includes black pepper, celery seeds, myrtle berries, nutmeg, and coriander. Oscar Mayer also adds paprika, beef stock, and mustard powder to give their bologna a distinctive flavor.

Other manufacturers may use different seasonings or use different meat trimmings, but the secret is out — bologna and hot dogs are all made the same. The meat pulp either gets earmarked as a hot dog and placed in a removable casing, or it's targeted to become bologna and gets a different casing.