How to Celebrate National Hot Dog Day in Style
Let’s be frank, we love fresh hot dogs off the grill. Hot dogs are doggone good, whether they are steamed or grilled and piled high with toppings like sauerkraut and mustard. We’ve never had a hot dog we don’t like, whether it’s a Jersey-style Italian hot dog, a Chicago “dragged through the garden” hot dog, or a foot-long frank.
Hot dogs are so popular there is a day devoted to them. July 17 is National Hot Dog Day. Plus, Nathan’s Famous has hosted its famous Hot Dog Eating Contest for more than 100 years in Coney Island, New York. During peak hot dog season — that’s the summer — Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs.
Whether you like bratwurst, corn dogs, pigs-in-a-blanket, or sausage, it’s time to fire up the grill and take a bite out of National Hot Dog Day and hot dog history.
WHAT DAY IS NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY
We relish the chance to celebrate National Hot Dog Day annually on the third Wednesday in July. In 2024, National Hot Dog Day is celebrated on July 17. The summer food holiday coincides with the North American Meat Institute’s Annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill.
IS JULY NATIONAL HOT DOG MONTH?
Yes, July is National Hot Dog Month. During this month, 10% of U.S. retail hot dog sales occur and 150 million hot dogs are eaten on Independence Day alone.
NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY HISTORY
While chefs are constantly coming up with new ways to prepare and enjoy wieners, hot dogs have been around for centuries. Hot dogs were first mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey in the 9th Century B.C.
There are numerous stories about who invented modern day “hot dogs.” In the late 1600’s, butcher Johann Georghehner created the “dachshund” or “little-dog” sausage. He traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, to promote his frankfurters served in buns. Others say the weiner was invented in Austria, Vienna in 1487.
By the mid-19th century, hot dogs were being sold from pushcarts in New York City’s Bowery. By the end of the 19th century, hot dogs were sold at ballparks across America.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY
The best way to observe National Hot Dog Day is by eating a hot dog at a ballpark, a backyard barbecue, or a carnival or fair. You could use the holiday as inspiration to try new hot dog condiments like chili, cheese, onions, or sauerkraut or you could challenge your friends to a hot dog eating contest.
Consider ordering some hot dog kits and trying regional hot dogs like Cleveland’s Polish Boys, Polish sausage on a roll, topped with barbecue sauce, sauerkraut, and French fries, and Washington, D.C.’s half-smokes, smoky, spicy sausages topped with chili, mustard, and onions. Whatever you do, don’t put ketchup on a hot dog!
Vienna Beef Hot Dogs’ Chicago Style Hot Dog Kit
Hot dog! Vienna Beef Hot Dogs has been serving some of the most famous Chicago-style hot dogs since 1893. Austrian-Hungarian immigrants, Emil Reichl and Samuel Ladany, debuted their Vienna Beef hot dog at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition and opened their store a year later.
Vienna Beef Hot Dogs’ Chicago Style Hot Dog Kit includes 16 skinless beef franks and poppy seed buns plus condiments like Vienna sport peppers, green relish, yellow mustard, and celery salt. Don’t forget to add tomato, onion, and pickle spears for a true taste of Chicago.
Gray’s Papaya’s Complete New York Hot Dog Kit + Papaya Drink
Since 1973, New Yorkers have sought out Nicholas Gray’s inexpensive hot dogs and fresh papaya juice. The skinned all-beef hot dogs are browned on the griddle and have a delicious snap.
Gray’s Papaya’s Complete New York Hot Dog Kit + Papaya Drink includes a dozen 6.5-in. hot dogs and white hot dog buns plus all the fixin’s, including sauerkraut and mustard, and 3 pouches of tart, creamy Papaya Drink.
Pat LaFrieda Meats’ Pat LaFrieda All Beef Hot Dogs
Oh snap! It’s not surprising that the man synonymous with New York’s best beef makes exceptional all-beef hot dogs too. Since Anthony LaFrieda founded Pat LaFrieda Meats in Brooklyn in 1922, the family owned meat purveyor has been sourcing NYC’s top restaurants with beef.
Pat LaFrieda’s All Beef Hot Dogs are 100% beef in natural casings. There’s not a weak link in these two 8-packs of all-beef 6.5-in. hot dogs. One bite and you will looong for these hot dogs!
This article originally appeared on Goldbelly.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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America's Best Regional Hot Dogs, from Chicago to Hawaii
Few foods are more American than the hot dog. Even though they trace their origins to German sausages (they’re also called frankfurters for a reason), the minute they were first tucked into a bun – reportedly in Coney Island, naturally – they became a distinctly American invention.
Since then, they’ve not only become an indispensable summertime treat, they’ve also become regional icons based on the style of dog, the toppings, or both. Just like barbecue and pizza, hot dogs have taken on their very own unique regional identities.
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Some hot dogs – like New York dogs or Chicago-style dogs – are up there with the most famous and easily identifiable hot dogs from a specific city or region. But there are lots of regional hot dog styles out there, and we bet that you’ve never even heard of some of them. These are America’s main regional hot dogs:
- New York City
- Chicago
- New Jersey
- Michigan
- Arizona
- Washington, DC
- Cleveland
- Cincinnati
- Rhode Island
- Philadelphia
- Maine
- Troy, New York
- Kansas City
- Hawaii
Perhaps no city’s culinary culture is more associated with hot dogs than New York, where the quintessential version – served at Jewish delis and hot dog carts alike – are topped with tangy sauerkraut or sweet & tomatoes “onions in sauce” and a stripe of deli mustard. These can be found at iconic stands like Gray’s Papaya, Crif Dogs, and the most famous hot dog stand of all, Nathan’s Famous – all shipping nationwide.
Gray’s Papaya
The classic Chicago-style hot dog can be found at stands all throughout the city, and they all must have the exact same ingredients in order to be considered authentic: a frank from Vienna Beef, topped with yellow mustard, bright green relish, spicy sport peppers, diced onions, a pickle spear, a tomato slice, and a sprinkle of celery salt before being tucked into a poppy seed bun. If you want to recreate this dog without traveling to the Windy City, Vienna Beef is shipping their hot dog kids nationwide.
Vienna Beef
In North Jersey, you’ll find a unique style of hot dog called the Italian Hot Dog; it’s a fried frank that’s tucked into a thick roll made with pizza dough along with peppers, onions, and fried slices of potato. It was invented in 1932 at a restaurant called Jimmy Buff’s, which is shipping these creations nationwide.
Elsewhere in New Jersey, you’ll find hot dogs called Texas wieners, which are deep-fried all-beef dogs topped with mustard, raw onions, and a beef sauce that’s seasoned with warm spices like cumin, cinnamon, and allspice. There’s no relation to Texas, interestingly enough.
Jimmy Buff’s
Coney dogs (which like Texas wieners in New Jersey, have little to no relation to Coney Island) are the most famous hot dog in Michigan, especially around the Detroit area. Classic coneys are natural casing wieners topped with diced onion, mustard, and a sauce made from finely ground beef heart and spices called coney sauce. The most famous purveyors – located right next door to each other – are Detroit’s Lafayette and American Coney Island; if you want to try it for yourself, American is shipping to your door.
American Coney Island
Cleveland has a large Polish population, and the city’s signature hot dog is named after them. Called the Polish Boy, it’s a Polish sausage tucked into a roll, topped with barbecue sauce, sauerkraut, and – most importantly – a heaping pile of French fries. The city’s famed Edwin’s Restaurant is shipping a superlative version nationwide.
Edwin’s Restaurant
Cincinnati-style hot dogs, just like the city’s famous spaghetti, are topped with chili sauce (seasoned with Greek-inspired spices like cinnamon, clove, and allspice), onions, and a heaping pile of shredded cheddar. You can recreate this iconic hot dog by ordering from one of its most famous chili parlors, Skyline Chili.
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Found primarily in Tucson, Phoenix, and the Mexican region of Sonora, Sonoran dogs are bacon-wrapped, griddled, tucked into a soft bun, and topped with beans, grilled and fresh onions, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, jalapeno salsa, and crema.
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Usually called half-smokes, the most popular hot dogs in the nation’s capital are smoky, spicy sausages topped with spicy, beefy chili sauce, diced onions, and sometimes mustard.
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Tiny Rhode Island has a hot dog style all to itself, called the New York System weiner (once again, a regional hot dog named after somewhere else). These are all-beef, natural-casing wieners, griddled, tucked into a side-cut steamed bun, and topped with meat sauce, diced raw onion, mustard, and celery salt.
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Yet another dog named after somewhere else, Philadelphia’s signature hot dog, the Texas Tommy, is an all-beef dog that’s sliced down the middle and stuffed with bacon and Cheez Whiz before being grilled and served on a toasted bun.
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Maine hot dogs are easily identified based on their bright red color, achieved with the help of food coloring. The state’s signature red snappers are either beef or pork, served on a split-top bun and topped with yellow mustard.
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Upstate in Troy, New York, the city’s signature hot dogs are tiny, usually just measuring three or so inches. They’re topped with meat sauce, diced onions, and yellow mustard, and are usually eaten several to a sitting; consider them hot hot dog equivalent of sliders.
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In Kansas City, you’ll find hot dogs that are tucked into a sesame seed bun and topped with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and optional Thousand Island or spicy mustard.
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And finally, we head to Hawaii, where in Honolulu you’ll find the unique Puka Dog, a Polish sausage that’s been stuffed into a big, hollowed-out toasted bun and topped with your choice of a variety of sauces and relishes, including some tropical-inspired ones like passion fruit relish and pineapple relish.
This article originally appeared on Goldbelly.com
https://blog.goldbelly.com/regional-hot-dog-styles/
and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
