Get out the buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, maybe a little kraut… today we are trying out hot dogs! Hot dogs are pretty much a summertime staple. Whether you eat them at the ballpark, off the grill, or maybe from the campfire, everyone usually has at least one or two of these each summer.
Which Hot dogs are we trying today?
Ballpark Franks
Oscar Meyer Classic Beef
Bar S Classic Franks
Nathan’s Famous Beef Franks
Wimmer’s Natural Casing Wieners
Hillshire Farm Beef Smoked Sausage
Who is on this Hot dog adventure?
Alan, has beef with the beef.
Nate, a greasy little wiener boy.
Matt, enjoys the occasional hotdog.
Amy, surrounded by wieners.
And of course, our subscribers! Thanks to our small, yet coveted group. We appreciate the support. You too can join us on this food journey. All you need to do is… SUBSCRIBE!
The History of Hot dogs
It is believed that the beginnings of this food can be traced back to the Roman Emperor Nero in ancient Rome. Before sent to slaughter, pigs were starved for a week. Legend says that Nero’s cook was in the kitchen, realized that a pig that was fully roasted was not cleaned before hand. He stuck his knife into the belly to see if the roast was edible and the intestines popped out. Since the pig had been starved for a week, the intestines were empty and puffed from the heat. He stuffed the intestines with ground game meat mixed with spices and wheat, creating the first sausage.
Two German towns vie to be the original birthplace of the modern hot dog. Frankfurt claims the frankfurter was invented there over 500 years ago. But Vienna claims to be the true originators of the wienerwurst. Though this fact cannot be agreed on, it is known that German immigrants to New York were the first to sell wieners in the 1860s. The person most responsible for popularizing the hot dog in the United States was Nathan Handwerker, who was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. He worked at a hot dog stand at Coney Island. He spent a year saving his money until he was able to start a competing stand. He undercut his competitors, selling his hotdogs for only 5 cents, and sent them out of business. This is how Nathan’s Famous was born, a popular hot dog brand.
So, how did the term “hot dog” come about?
This is something that has not been pinned down. But there are a couple theories.
One theory is that in 1901, on a cold day at the New York Polo Grounds, vendors were dishing out hot dogs, shouting “Get your dachshund sausages while they're red hot!” A New York Journal cartoonist observed this and drew a cartoon of a dachshund nestled warmly in the rolls. He wasn’t sure how to spell dachshund, so he wrote Hot Dogs, and coined the term. Though historians have been unable to verify this.
Another theory points to Yale college magazines in 1894 referencing the sausage carts as dog wagons which were sold at the dorms.
References to dachshund sausages can be traced to German immigrants who brought not only sausages to America, but dachshund dogs.
Hot Dog Revenue.
In 2018, U.S. consumers spent more than $3 billion on hot dogs.
So, how many hot dogs do Americans consume? During peak hot dog season (which is from Memorial Day to Labor Day), Americans consume around 7 billion hot dogs. On Independence Day alone, Americans consume around 150 million hot dogs, which is enough to stretch from D.C. to L.A. more than five times. And speaking of Los Angeles, residents there consume more hot dogs than any other city in the U.S.
Most popular hot dog brands in the United States
10.) Farmer John - These are more commonly called Dodger Dogs since they have been sold at Dodger games in L.A. since the 1950s. Today, 10.56 million Americans eat Farmer John hot dogs every year.
9.) Eckrich - 12 million Americans eat this brand, which are very budget-friendly.
8.) Hillshire Farms - About 17 million Americans consumed these in 2017.
7.) Armour - 18.46 million Americans chose this brand in 2017. They are well known for their commercial jingle from the 1960s.
6.) Store-brand - These are generic hot dogs, which 24.75 million Americans purchased in 2017
5.) Nathan’s Famous - These might be from our origin story, but they only came in at 5th place with 28.85 million Americans enjoying these.
4.) Bar S - This is another budget friendly hot dog. 31.12 million Americans picked this one off the grocery store shelves.
3.) Hebrew National - these are 100% kosher dogs and 38.15 million Americans chose these babies.
2.) Oscar Mayer rolls into second place with 80 million Americans chowing down on these babies. Here is a commercial from 1965.
And number one - Ball Park. 94 Million Americans enjoy these hot dogs. Here is a commercial from 1986.
Fun Facts:
July is National Hot Dog Month.
Franks and wieners were the original names for the Americanized hot dogs.
Hot dogs were consumed on the moon during the moon landing.
Hot dogs were first sold at baseball games in 1893.
The world’s longest hot dog was 668 feet long.
Mickey Mouse’s first on screen words were “Hot Dog!”
Every year, there is a hot dog eating contest on Coney Island. Nathan’s famous international hot dog eating contest attracts over 40,000 fans each year and is broadcast on ESPN to nearly two million viewers. The contestants have ten minutes to consume, and keep down, as many hotdogs and buns as they can. The reigning champ is Joey Chestnut, who ate 73 hotdogs. That is about 16 pounds. With the bread, each hotdog is about 309 calories, which means he consumed 22,557 calories in 10 minutes.
Mustard is the most popular hot dog topping. In a survey from 2014, 71 percent of Americans said they liked mustard on their hotdogs. 52% said they preferred ketchup.
63% of Americans prefer their hotdogs grilled.
The Results
**SPOILER ALERT!**
Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!
6th Place: Bar S Classic Franks
Alan - 2
Amy - 2
Matt - 4
Nate - 2
5th Place: Ballpark Franks
Alan - 4
Amy - 1
Matt - 4
Nate - 4
4th Place: Oscar Meyer Classic Beef
Alan - 2
Amy - 4
Matt - 6
Nate - 4
3rd Place: Nathan’s Famous Beef Franks
Alan - 3
Amy - 5
Matt - 6
Nate - 3
1st/2nd Place (TIE): Wimmer’s Natural Casing Wieners
Alan - 9
Amy - 6
Matt - 5
Nate - 5
“I’m diggin’ this hot dog. Oh my god! This is a good hot dog! Wimmer is a fucking winner.” - Alan
1st/2nd Place (TIE): Hillshire Farm Beef Smoked Sausage
Alan - 6
Amy - 7
Matt - 7
Nate - 5
There you have it. Hillshire Farm Beef Smoked Sausage AND Wimmer’s Natural Casing Wieners BOTH get the Quest for the Best seal of approval. Check out their websites to try them out for yourself.
https://www.hillshirefarm.com/
https://www.wimmersmeats.com/
Thank you all for joining us on this episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Have you tried all these Hot Dogs? Are you with Alan and not a big fan of beef? We would love to hear your rating as well.
Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.
And of course, remember to subscribe to hear the latest episodes. Additionally, paid subscribers will have access to monthly content where we put two restaurants head to head in a Quest for the Best battle. You definitely do not want to miss out.
SHOW NOTES:
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-hot-dogs-really-made-of-2014-7
https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/why-10-hot-dogs-8-buns/
https://www.hot-dog.org/
https://www.rd.com/list/competitive-eating-facts/
https://nathansfranks.smithfieldfoods.com/en-us/articles/hot-dog-eating-contest/hdec-fun-facts/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80926/7-fascinating-facts-about-hot-dogs
https://www.today.com/food/hot-dog-recipes-fun-facts-national-hot-dog-day-2017-t113952
https://www.history.com/news/break-out-the-buns-the-history-of-the-hot-dog
https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/these-are-the-best-selling-hot-dog-brands-in-america.html/
A Summer Time Favorite... Hot Dogs!