What Exactly Are Vienna Sausages And How Do You Eat The Nostalgic Canned Meat?

If you've ever found yourself strolling down the canned foods aisle at the grocery store staring down rows of spam and canned ham, it's very likely that you've come across one of the most divisive canned meats on the planet: Vienna sausages. Traditionally sold in squat 4.6 ounce tins, these tiny, pre-cooked sausages have been a part of American culinary history since 1903. Produced in a similar style to hot dogs, Vienna sausages are made from meat trimmings (typically pork, chicken, and beef) and corn syrup that get emulsified into paste and stuffed into casings that are removed after the links are cooked.

Unlike most hot dogs, however, these cocktail-style sausages are typically seasoned and treated with liquid smoke and/or vinegar before being steamed. Once fully cooked and out of their casings, the Vienna sausages get chopped into two-inch bites and squeezed tightly into their cans, showered with chicken broth to add flavor, and heated once more for sterilization. Since the sausages are completely cooked, they're totally safe to eat straight from the can, but can also be heated and served with toothpicks as cocktail sausages, or wrapped in pastry dough to make pigs in a blanket. When properly stored, a can of Vienna sausages has a shelf life of up to five years.

The history of Vienna sausages is almost as mishmashed as the cylindrical meat itself. Before becoming synonymous with canned meat, Vienna sausages were widely known as a kind of frankfurters popularized in the Austrian capital. The invention of these slender, lightly smoked sausages is often credited to a German butcher named Johann Georg Lahner, who relocated to Vienna in 1805. Since frankfurters were traditionally made only with pork, Lahner's addition of beef to his recipe allowed him to sell the product as a new kind of sausage, which became known outside of Austria as Wiener Wuerstchen (aka Vienna sausages).

The canned sausages that we know today, however, aren't exactly the same as their European predecessors. Though the original Vienna sausages most likely made their way to the United States in the mid-1800s by way of German and Austrian immigrants, they were typically sold on the streets as dachshund sausages, (which later became known as hot dogs). It wasn't until Chicago-based food manufacturer Libby's began selling canned cocktail-length sausages in 1903 that the canned meat became their own uniquely American product. Like SPAM and other preserved meats, Vienna sausages became known for their convenience and affordability in the 1950s, eventually making their way around the world as a wartime ration for American troops. These days, the bite-size meat remain a reliable pantry staple that can be enjoyed straight out of the can or fried, breaded, and enjoyed with all the dipping sauces your heart desires.