National Hot Dog Day

The sun is out, you’re at the amusement park, and the rollercoaster is filling the air with the clack-clack-clack of wheels on rails. The scent of a thousand different fair foods fill the air, but one stands out above all the rest. It’s rich, it’s savory, it’s the smell of a thousand mysterious meat products put into one delicious sausage casing, broiled up on a flame grill, and sent out on a bun with all the fixings. National Hot Dog Day celebrates this most delicious and tantalizing of treats, and its extensive history!

Learn about National Hot Dog Day

A lot of people are going to have fond memories of eating hot dogs. For some people, this reminds them of some of the fairs and fetes that they used to go to when they were younger. For others, it may remind them of the barbecues that they used to have with their families.

Or, maybe a hot dog is always your go-to snack when you go to a football or basketball game? There is no denying that hot dogs are tasty, yet we can’t eat them every day, as they’re not exactly bursting with nutrients. That’s why National Hot Dog Day is the perfect excuse for you to indulge in this treat.

A hot dog is simply a steamed or grilled sausage sandwich whereby the sausage is typically served within a finger bun, which is partially sliced to fit the sausage inside. The sausage used is a frankfurter or a wiener, which is a Vienna sausage.

Hot dog condiments and preparation vary regionally. For example, some of the typical garnishes include olives, bacon, coleslaw, grated cheese, chili, jalapenos, sauerkraut, onions. Typical condiments include cheese sauce, relish, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.

History of National Hot Dog Day

Given the National Hot Dog Day is an international event, where it begins and who sponsors it tends to vary by region. In the USA it’s primarily the industry partners that participate in promoting it, whereas in other countries around the world it may be historical organizations celebrating the role it played in their history.

Did you know that the Frankfurter was named for the Germany city of Frankfurt, where it was said to originate? Well now you do! There’s even multiple varieties of Hot Dogs! The original hot dogs came in a natural casing, which in case you didn’t know were made from the small intestines of sheep. Intestines were regularly used for making all kinds of sausages, hotdogs included!

Then you have skinless hotdogs, in order to hold them together they’re cooked in a cellulose casing that gets taken off when they get packaged. Since cellulose is kosher and cheaper than kosher intestine, this is often how the frankly (heh heh) delicious Kosher Hot Dogs are often made.

National Hot Dog Day is celebrated all over, and if you’ve ever enjoyed a warm hot frank at a summer BBQ, then you’re no doubt celebrating too!

How to Celebrate National Hot Dog Day

The best way is to serve yourself up a great meal with hot dogs! Our personal favorite is the old classic, home-made mac and cheese served with slices of hot dog in it. We also really enjoy hot dogs in our chili, that’s if we don’t have a bun to make a classic chili dog.

Get all your friends together in your backyard and encourage them to bring their favorite frankfurters and condiments. Share stories of your first hot-dog, and all the memories you have around this classic summertime treat. There’s something about a hot dog with the slight char that comes from being grilled that always has us waiting for National Hot Dog Day.

If you really do want to do something a bit different on National Hot Dog Day, why not join a hot dog eating contest? If you think that you are going to be able to eat a lot of hot dogs within a specified period of time, you never know; you could end up being the champion!

However, we better warn you that there are people who enter eating contests for a living, and they train their bodies specifically for the task, so you’re going to be up against some stiff competition. Nevertheless, this can certainly be a fun and unusual thing to do, and you’re going to get to eat some hot dogs in the process, so everyone’s a winner, right?

If you take a look online, you will be able to see any food-eating contests that are going in your area. Of course, you could decide to host your own hot dog eating contest, between friends and family. This will certainly be a fun way to spend the day, and you will have more chance of winning. You could get everyone to pay an ‘entry-fee’ and this could be the prize fund for the winner.

Another way to celebrate National Hot Dog Day is by making your own hot dog creation. Hot dogs are typically served with ketchup, mustard, and onions, depending on your taste.

However, why not have fun experimenting with different toppings, to see what sort of creations you can come up with? There are so many different options, including crumbled gorgonzola, baked beans, grilled pineapple, pickled green beans, caramelized onions, and much more. You don’t know until you try it!

Crispy bacon is another popular one. Or, why not go for something completely unusual and out-of-the-box? You never know, you may be able to come up with the next big thing in hot dogs! If you do, be sure to share a photo on Instagram to get everyone’s mouth drooling!