National Hot Dog Day

National Hot Dog Day in July celebrates a summertime staple on a bun. Enjoy one piping hot and add some relish and mustard to go! Celebrated every year during National Hot Dog Month, this day pays homage to the frankfurter, the footlong, wiener, wienerwurst or even red hot. They taste just as great no matter what we call it.

We make them a variety of ways. They’re portable and easy to make. While many of us prefer the grilled or toasted over a fire, we also boil, pan-fry, and rotisserie-cook them. The list of toppings are numerous – from the basic ketchup, mustard, and relish to onions, mayonnaise, cheese, bacon, chili and sauerkraut – the list keeps growing. Adults and children alike love them too.

Chicagoans smother their Vienna Beef franks with a laundry list of toppings, folks in Arizona pimp their weiners with Mexican-inspired toppings, and if you’re from certain parts of New Jersey, your dogs better be deep-fried and stuffed into Italian bread with a gang of potatoes.

No matter how you like your hot dog prepared, we can all agree on one thing, and that’s that hot dogs have become part if a certain American cultural narrative.