Hot dog is a dish, served as a sausage in a bun (usually sliced in half). The sausage and the bun are mostly equal in length, although size may vary.
Sausage contains meat trimmings and fat, along with salt, garlic and sometimes paprika for the flavor, and sodium erythorbate and nitrite as preservatives. Usually beef and pork are in the sausage resulting in high fat and calorie values. The more diet friendly contain chicken, turkey or vegetarian meat, to decrease salt content.
Hot dogs are prepared in many different ways. For example, Mexican hot dog is wrapped in bacon and cooked on a grill, topped with beans, onions (both grilled and fresh), tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard and jalapeno sauce. Kansas City hot dog: pork sausage served in sesame seed bun and topped with mustard, sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese. Guatemala shucos are made with guacamole, cabbage (boiled), mayonnaise and mustard, and various choices of meat (sausage, chorizo, salami, bacon and longaniza). Shucos are often served with hot sauce.