Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll
Two slim smoked sausages, warmed in hot water that never boils and served in a pair with sharp or sweet mustard, horseradish and a crusty roll on the side.
Frankfurt am Main is traditionally credited with the frankfurter and celebrated its 500th birthday in 1987, but the 1487 date is tradition, and Coburg disputes it. In 1805 the butcher Johann Georg Lahner, who had trained in Frankfurt, made a pork-and-beef version in Vienna, where mixing the meats was allowed (Frankfurt used pork only). So Austria calls the sausage a "Frankfurter" and most of the world calls it a "Wiener" (Austrian agriculture ministry). In November 2024 the Viennese Würstelstand was added to Austria's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage.
🇦🇹 The original
Two slim smoked sausages, warmed in hot water that never boils and served in a pair with sharp or sweet mustard, horseradish and a crusty roll on the side.
🇺🇸 The American version
America split the roll, put the sausage inside and piled it with toppings. Chicago's version carries seven of them and no ketchup. See the Chicago-Style Hot Dog recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Below the boil
Hot water warms the sausage through without splitting the thin sheep casing, so the juices and the snap stay inside.
Warming, not cooking
The sausage is already smoked and scalded at the plant, so the only job at home is heat.
Step by step
- Step 1
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, about 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Take the pot off the heat and rest 1 minute, so the water is steaming but not bubbling (about 170°F to 180°F).
- Step 3
Slip in the sausages, cover and let them steep 8 minutes. Don't let the water boil, or the casings split. They're done when steaming hot all the way through (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- Step 4
While they steep, put the rolls on plates. Leave them whole; in Vienna the roll goes on the side.
- Step 5
Lift out the sausages with tongs and drain 30 seconds.
- Step 6
Serve 2 sausages per plate with a roll, a spoonful of mustard, a little horseradish and pepperoncini if you like.
Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll
Serves 4 (2 sausages each) · 8 sausages · 25 min total
Sausages
- 8 smoked pork-and-beef wieners or frankfurters in natural (sheep) casing, about 2 oz each
- About 3 quarts water
To serve
- 4 Kaiser rolls or Semmeln (or 8 slices dark rye bread)
- 4 tbsp mustard: sharp (Estragon or tarragon style, or German medium-hot) or sweet (Kremser or Bavarian style)
- 2 tbsp prepared horseradish (Kren), optional
- Optional: pickled pepperoncini (Pfefferoni) and small gherkins (Gurkerl)
Method
- Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, about 10 minutes.
- Take the pot off the heat and rest 1 minute, so the water is steaming but not bubbling (about 170°F to 180°F).
- Slip in the sausages, cover and let them steep 8 minutes. Don't let the water boil, or the casings split. They're done when steaming hot all the way through (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- While they steep, put the rolls on plates. Leave them whole; in Vienna the roll goes on the side.
- Lift out the sausages with tongs and drain 30 seconds.
- Serve 2 sausages per plate with a roll, a spoonful of mustard, a little horseradish and pepperoncini if you like.
Built from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture's traditional-foods entry for serving (pairs, mustard, horseradish, a Semmel, water below the boil). The heating time (about 8 minutes in hot water so the skin does not burst) is from Wikipedia, and the water temperature is checked against Vienna Beef's instruction to heat franks in 160°F to 180°F water. Wien.info covers the sweet vs sharp mustard choice, and Visiting Vienna covers the bread options. Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- If the water boils by accident, pull the pot off the heat right away.
- At a stand you'll be asked "süß oder scharf?", sweet or sharp. Put both on the table.
- For the American comparison, tuck one sausage into a split roll. Same sausage, different idea.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Always in pairs. Documented (Austrian ministry).
- Sweet or sharp mustard. Documented: sweet Kremser or sharp Estragon (wien.info).
- Roll on the side, not split around the sausage. Documented as the Austrian serve (ministry; Visiting Vienna, which also lists slices of dark bread).
- Never boil. Well supported in practice (Wikipedia: hot water, so the skin doesn't burst; ministry: below the boil).
- Ketchup. Disputed: the ministry lists ketchup as an option; travel guides call it a faux pas.
- Frankfurt 1487. Disputed / tradition (NHDSC); the Austrian ministry dates German Frankfurter sausages to about 1280.
- Protected name. Documented: protected in Germany since about 1860, and since 1929 only sausages from the Frankfurt area (mainly Neu-Isenburg and Dreieich) may use it (ministry; Wikipedia). EU PGI status not checked.
- Lahner's life dates. Disputed: the ministry page itself gives 1771 to 1875 and 1772 to 1845, and calls him both Upper Franconian and Frankfurt-trained.
Every other hot dog style
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
An all-beef frank in a steamed poppy seed bun, "dragged through the garden" with seven toppings, and never ketchup.
New York Street Cart Hot Dog
An all-beef frank held in a hot "dirty water" bath, in a steamed bun with sweet red onion sauce, sauerkraut and mustard.
Detroit Coney Island Hot Dog
A natural-casing dog in a soft bun under a fine, beanless meat sauce, a stripe of yellow mustard and a pile of chopped onion.
Sonoran Hot Dog
A bacon-wrapped dog in a soft bolillo split along the top, loaded with pinto beans, tomato, onion, jalapeño salsa, mustard and a zigzag of mayo.
New Jersey Italian Hot Dog
Hot dogs fried in oil with peppers, onions and potato rounds, stuffed into a pocket of round Italian pizza bread over a line of mustard.
DC Half-Smoke
A coarse, smoky pork-and-beef sausage, grilled until browned, in a soft steamed bun with yellow mustard, onion and a scoop of smooth, spicy chili.
Seattle Cream Cheese Dog
A butterflied, griddle-browned dog on a toasted bun spread with cream cheese and piled with golden onions, jalapeños optional.
American Corn Dog
A hot dog on a stick, twirled in a cornmeal and buttermilk batter and fried golden, with a squiggle of yellow mustard.
Chilean Completo Italiano
A long hot dog in a big soft bun, buried under diced tomato, salted mashed avocado and a heavy line of mayonnaise, in the red, green and white of the Italian flag.
Danish Ristet Pølse
A griddle-browned sausage poking out of both ends of a soft bun, striped with ketchup, mustard and remoulade, buried in raw and crispy onions and topped with sweet cucumber.
Korean Corn Dog (Gamja Hotdog)
A hot dog on a stick wrapped in chewy yeast dough, rolled in potato cubes and crumbs, fried and dusted with sugar, then zigzagged with ketchup and mustard.
Coney Island Griddled Dog, Inspired by Nathan's Famous
An all-beef natural-casing frank cooked whole on a flat-top, gently first and hot at the end, for a blistered, snappy skin.
25-Minute Air-Fryer Chili Cheese Dogs
Air-fried franks, a quick skillet chili and melted cheddar, on the table in about 25 minutes.
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