steamed hot dogs questions please

hello , new to the forum and hotdogs and was hoping someone will fill me in with some clues on a few questions.. 
what kind of hotdogs are a good choice "steamed" ? skinless or casing ? and pork , beef , etc...? 
how long do they stay good in the steam table ? 
any other tips or suggestions appreciated. 

Read the sticky here....... Then use the search feature, there are many pages on the subject.
If you can't find your answers after doing some research, ask away with your specific questions.
The first thing you need to do is contact YOUR health dept, find out what is required in your area, don't ask those questions here.
BTW....Welcome.

thank you very much ,,  i have a pizza shop and am trying to figure out the best way to go about serving hot dogs steamed as i have no experience with the hot dog biz and it seems much more complex than i thought lol.... so hopefully will get some answers , i plan on buying one of those hotdog steamers with four sides glass that has the 2 tops that open from the top one compartment holds the dogs the other the buns where you can control the humidity for the rolls too... are these units ok for an inhouse store location such as my pizza shop ?  thank you again, jim

 
 This is a Counter top food warmer, you put water in the bottom and the water will boil and provide steam..........
 
Then put a full or half size perforated steamer pan in the warmer. this will act as your top holding steam. you will also need a cover for the warmer unit. this is basically what is used in a Hot Dog Cart operation....................Welcome to Roadfood..............pnwc
  P.S. you can also get the perforated pans in 1/2 and 1/3 so you could offer a Hot dog, Sausage, and Chili, using only one unit. By putting the warmer on you back counter, it will look like a more professional operation. The glass counter top bun and hot dog warmer in my opinion is more of a C Store self service approach.

Plus, the countertop food warmer which Chef is recommending costs new about 1/3 the price of a used hot dog steamer you are thinking of. And, if you find out the dog thing doesn't work, you can use the countertop food warmer for many other purposes than just dogs.

excellent points , thank you both , one other important question is what type of hot dogs typically would you suggest steamed... skinless or natural casing , all beef  etc... i know there are different things you can do but just generally speaking because i have no knowledge in this biz ...thank you all again very much , jim

not all dogs hold up in the steam very well. The best ones i've seen and i use them daily are Nathan's.

do you mean the skinless or the natural casing ?.... thank you very much

I use natural casing. Try several brands. What I've found is the denser, heavier dogs last longer in the steamer. For example, when I first opened, I was selling Kayem (which is the most popular regional brand around here). They are a lighter (less dense), fine-ground dog in pork casing. I found that they turned brown and lost their snap very quickly. I switched to a new brand I get from a local meat supplier that is heavier, denser, courser grind, in lamb casing instead of pork. They hold up in the steamer almost four times as long as the Kayem did. They cost me more, but it is worth it because I have so much less waste.