My summer cooking magazines are stacked on my coffee table, waiting for me to cook something that doesn’t actually require cooking – you know, the “beat the heat” recipes.
But I watched Joey Chestnut win his 18th Mustard Belt at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest and saw a baseball stadium challenge called 9-9-9—drinking 9 beers and eating 9 hot dogs in 9 innings. So, if it’s the third Wednesday of July…I’m cooking hot dogs to celebrate National Hot Dog Day!
You can call it a ‘Frankfurter’—originating in Germany, made from pork and lightly smoked—or a Weiner, originating in Vienna, Austria, made from a blend of beef and pork—but they’re both hot dogs.
Rumor has it that they’re not good for us. They’re an ultra-processed food with too much sodium and saturated fats. But if they’re so bad for us, why do American’s eat 20 billion annually, including 150 million on July Fourth alone? And why are there vegetarian and vegan options? It’s because the very concept of the hot dog is so awesome, everyone wants one.
Where the term “hot dog” came from is disputed, of course. Some say the term was coined in New York in 1901 by a vendor who couldn’t spell “hot dachshund sausages"—which was the name given to them by a German butcher in the 1600s—so he started calling them “hot dogs” instead. But in the 1890s, students at Yale University began calling the wagons selling hot sausages in buns outside their dorm "hot dog wagons."
So, what brand do you swear by? The beloved Oscar Mayer brand, founded in 1883 in Chicago, was the hotdog of my childhood because, “if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener everyone would be in love with me.” Plus, they had the cool Wienermobile. Sabrett’s is the hot dog served on the iconic street carts in New York, but Hebrew National, Nathan’s Famous, and Ball Park are brands we can’t stop eating.
We don’t eat them naked, so what’s on your Dog? I’ll take mine with mustard, relish, and onions, sometimes a little sauerkraut or chili.
Like many foods, the toppings on a hot dog has regional roots. There’s the New York Dog – brown mustard, onion, sauerkraut – affectionately known as the no-B.S. Dog. And there’s no ketchup. There’s the Coney Dog with mustard, onions, chili – and cheese. There’s the infamous all-beef Chicago Dog – with lots of stuff on it – including relish, a sport pepper, and sliced tomato that adds some sweetness, because there’s no ketchup on hot dogs. Of course there’s the posers, like the Seattle Dog with cream cheese, the Baltimore Bologna Dog with griddled beef bologna added, and the Pittsburgh with slaw, provolone, and French fries.
I read somewhere that a hot dog may be considered a sandwich That’s nonsense! According to the USDA, a sandwich is a meat or filling, between two slices of bread, and since a hot dog bun is a single piece of hinged bread, it is obviously not a sandwich. It’s a distinct food class. Like a burger, which you can put ketchup on.
So, my friends, celebrate the hot dog, topped with whatever region of the country fits your taste and enjoy the simple dog days of summer!
Resources:
https://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-history
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/jul/01/are-hot-dogs-healthy-bad-for-you
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/06/27/american-regional-hot-dog-styles/
