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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL HOT DIGGITY DOG DAY
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.
Read More: Best 4th of July Party Foods
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.
Read More: Meet the Maker: Taylor Bodman, Vienna Beef
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!
‘Sup Dawg. You will love every inch of our hot dogs shipping nationwide on Goldbelly!
