It’s National Hot Dog Day!
Are there rules of etiquette on how to eat a hot dog? If I had my way, no! Well, not many.
Memory: Hot dogs were a common lunch treat in our household. My mom would chop up a couple of hot dogs, sizzle them, then add eggs; hot dog scramble. Delicious!
There are many names for this tasty treat as a footlong, red-hot, frank, frankfurter, weenie or wiener. Naturally, many health and lifestyle experts would no doubt recommend that we stay away from this all-American food. Mainly because of the ingredients.
Here are a few things to consider when you bite into a hot dog:
- Be sure to have several napkins handy to wipe up the mustard off your cheek.
- If you’re enjoying a hot dog with others, try to take smaller bites. (This could be a challenge.)
- If the hot dog is smaller than the bun, feel free to push the dog up, leaving part of the bun uneaten. The NHDSC thinks otherwise. They also recommend using the “5 bite” rule.
- Sharing a hot dog is just not right! Kidding. For me, it’s like having only 3 potato chips, and now you’re asking me to share!
- Manage your burps. There is nothing as gross as a “hot dog” burp.
- Be mindful of your vegetarian/vegan family and friends. Have a option for them. It’s just polite.
- And finally, for both consumers of hot dogs and those opposed, lectures about why or why not to eat a hot dog is not polite.
Here are a few more etiquette rules the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council recommend:
- Use plain or sesame seed buns; it’s gauche to use fancy breads.
- Do not use utensils to eat a hot dog.
- Don’t bring wine to hot dog bbq, soda, beer, or ice are preferrable.
Whether you boil them, microwave them, grill them, or just eat them right out of the package, enjoy this delicious treat today, on National Hot Dog Day.
“As the legend goes, according to the NHDSC (National Hot Dog & Sausage Council), frankfurters were dubbed the “hot dog” by a cartoonist who observed a vendor selling the “hot daschund sausages” during a baseball game at New York City’s Polo Grounds. Concessionaires walked through the stands shouting “Get your red-hot dachshund sausages.” In 1906, Tad Dorgan, a cartoonist for a Hearst newspaper, was inspired by the scene and sketched a cartoon with a real dachshund dog, smeared with mustard, in a bun. Supposedly, Dorgan could not spell the name of the dog, instead writing “get your hot dogs” for a caption.”
For more tips on how to eat a hot dog on this National Hot Dog Day, visit National Hot Dog & Sausage Council for more rules of etiquette.
Spread civility
Rosalinda Oropeza Randall, Etiquette and Civility Expert, Media Source, and author of “Don’t Burp in the Boardroom.” and “Keep Your Distance!”
Both books available here: AMAZON
