White Hot

The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found in the Upstate New York area. It is composed of some combination of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef, and veal; the lack of smoking or curing allows the meat to retain a naturally white color. White hots usually contain mustard and other spices, and often include a dairy component such as nonfat dry milk.

The white hot originated in the 1920s in Rochester's German community as a "white and porky" alternative to high-price red hot dogs, made of the less desirable meat parts and various fillers; in contrast, modern versions are made from quality meats and generally are sold at higher prices than common hot dogs.

The best-known producer of the white hot is Zweigle's. Even though they were not the first to make the dog, they were "the first ones at the stadium" (according to Robert Berl, the first maker of the Zweigle brand white hot). Soon after Berl began making the dogs in 1925, he secured a contract at the Red Wing Stadium. The white hot has become the official hot dog of the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Americans and Rochester Rhinos and was the official hot dog of the Washington Nationals during the major league baseball team's first season.

There is an unrelated white German sausage, traditional in Bavaria and popular in the mid-western United States, known as Weisswurst, which is made primarily from veal.