“Is a hot dog a sandwich?” (debate question)
“Is a hot dog a sandwich?” became a popular debate question on the 2000s, but it was not always even a question.
The hot dog is meat between bread and, in the 19th century and early 20th century, was clearly identified as a sandwich. The name “sausage sandwich” was used by at least 1839. The name “dog sandwich” was used by at least 1843. The name “Coney Island sandwich” was used by at least 1882. The name “wienerwurst sandwich” has been cited since at least 1885. The name “Frankfurter sausage sandwich” has been cited since at least 1887. The name “hot dog sandwich” has been cited since at least 1897.
A “hot dog” sausage was originally between two slices of bread. The “hot dog roll”—one piece of bread—was developed by baker Ignatz Frischman(n) of Coney Island in the late 1800s. However, the “hot dog” was still regarded as a sandwich even with this new roll.
The name “Coney Island sausage sandwich” became, through years of usage, “Coney Island” and then “coney.” The name “Frankfurter sausage sandwich” became “frankfurter” and then “frank.” The name “wienerwurst sandwich” became “wiener.” “Hot dog” usually exists by itself, without the term “sandwich.”
“Is it a sandwich or a wiener? Astronauts need hot dog reply” was a United Press International story in June 1985. The astronauts were told that a hot dog was a sandwich.
“Yes, a hot dog is a sandwich” by Patrick Hruby was published on ESPN.com in 2005.
The debate began to go viral in 2014 and in 2015. In March 2015, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council wrote, “By USDA definition a hot dog is a sandwich and as the official hot dog judges we agree.” On National Sandwich Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, the North American Meat Institute (the parent organization of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council), tweeted, “Does this count as a sandwich? Yes! Enjoy #hotdogs for #NationalSandwichDay #LoveMeat.”
However, on Friday, November 6, 2015, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council changed course, stating,
“Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy.’ Perhaps at one time its importance could be limited by forcing it into a larger sandwich category (no disrespect to Reubens and others), but that time has passed, said NHDSC President and ‘Queen of Wien’ Janet Riley. “We therefore choose to take a cue from a great performer and declare our namesake be a “hot dog formerly known as a sandwich.”
Newspapers.com
22 June 1985,The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ), pg. B11, cols. 1-2:
Wiener or loser?
Shuttle in quandary:
Hot dog a sausage
or sandwich name?
United Press International
Shuttle astronaut John Flabia interrupted the radio silence from space Friday by asking mission control for help.
“We’re having a technical discussion up here and perhaps you can help us,” he said. “We’re wondering whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich or is just separate as a wiener.”
(...)
“OK, maybe this will help,” said (Houston mission control’s Mike—ed.) Mullane. “We consulted the pointer here and they say a hot dog is a sandwich that is point zero zero zero five nautical miles in length.”
Newspapers.com
19 February 1997, St. Joseph (MO) News-Press, “It’s your call,” pg. A2, col. 2:
Is it a sandwich?
Is a hot dog a sandwich? I say yes because it is meat and bread, with the exception of condiments. I am in a dispute with several of my friends, few of which see it my way and a few see it the other way. I’d like to have some help resolving this issue.
Straight Dope Message Boards
Mayo and hotdogs?!?!?!?
Wintermute
05-28-2003, 02:50 PM
A hot dog is a sandwich. All sandwiches except PB&J get mayo. Therefore, all hot dogs need mayo. It’s a simple fact of life. 😉
ESPN.com
February 5, 2005
Yes, a hot dog is a sandwich
By Patrick Hruby
Page 2 columnist
(...)
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
—Mark Wasiljew
By itself? No chance. On a bun? You bet. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a sandwich is “two or more slices of bread with a filling such as meat or cheese placed between them, or a partly split long or round roll containing a filling.” Thus, bun-plus-Dodger Dog equals ... Voila!
(Note: While a hot dog itself may not qualify as “meat,” common frankfurter ingredients such as food coloring, sodium nitrate, bread crumbs and preservatives certainly pass muster as “filling.”)
SodaHead
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
by Foo Master Angie Posted February 04, 2009
Twitter
Dread Flintstone
@Ill_Tone1
is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?
3:44 PM - 22 Mar 2009
Ask MetaFilter
A frankfurter by any other name
October 17, 2009 12:36 AM
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Common sense tells me yes, but people generally seem to say no when I ask them. I’m curious about the official classification of hot dogs, sausages, etc. Are they sandwiches or something else entirely? Is there a regulatory body that covers this type of thing?
posted by tehloki
(...)
Thus, the USDA considers a hot dog a “sandwich type product”.
posted by dhartung at 3:53 PM on October 17, 2009
Twitter
Ted Berg
@OGTedBerg
Is a hot dog a sandwich? I say yes: http://on.sny.tv/qCRyI6
7:07 PM - 2 Aug 2011
Twitter
Descant Magazine
@DescantMagazine
Question of the day in our office: is a hot dog a sandwich?
12:02 PM - 8 Jun 2012
The Guardian (UK)
Is a hot dog a sandwich? An extended meditation on the nature of America
Jeb Lund
Thursday 3 July 2014 10.46 EDT
(...)
A hot dog is a sandwich. A taco is a sandwich. God bless them, God bless America, God bless sandwiches.
USA Today—For The Win
A hot dog is definitely a sandwich
By: Ted Berg | March 24, 2015 1:42 pm
A hot dog is a sandwich. Why this is still up for debate is baffling.
(...)
The debate over hot dogs’ sandwich status has raged for so long on the internet that asking someone whether he or she believes a hot dog to be a sandwich has itself become something of a web-wide in-joke, and one I don’t really care to investigate long enough to feign familiarity with.
All that matters is this: A hot dog is definitely a sandwich. In what world is it not?
Fox Sports—Just a Bit Outside
March 24, 2015
IS A HOT DOG A SANDWICH?
Rocco DeMaro
(...)
COMMENTS
National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
By USDA definition a hot dog is a sandwich and as the official hot dog judges we agree. Though it should be noted that putting ketchup on a hot dog if you’re over 18 is a major faux pas.
Jan 31, 2015 1:40pm
(Twitter—deleted later that week)
N. American Meat Ins
@MeatInstitute
Does this count as a sandwich? Yes! Enjoy #hotdogs for
#NationalSandwichDay #LoveMeat
Embedded image permalink
LIKES
Jeff CarlsonBunzl/Koch SuppliesEric Mittenthal
9:15 AM - 3 Nov 2015
The Atlantic
It’s Not a Sandwich
According to our four-point test, cheeseburgers and Oreos qualify as sandwiches. Hot dogs, however, very much do not.
MEGAN GARBER NOV 5, 2015
(...)Things that are not sandwiches, however, include the wrap (fails #1), the burrito (same), the taco (fails #3), the KFC Double Down (fails #2), the drastically misnamed open-faced “sandwich” (fails #1 and #4) … and, yes, the hot dog. Which—though it, like the taco, exists in a fuzzier taxonomic realm than its fellow foodstuffs—is primarily vertical in its orientation, thus failing test #3.
National Hot Dog and Sausage Council
National Hot Dog and Sausage Council Announces Official Policy On ‘Hot Dog as Sandwich’ Controversy
NHDSC | Friday, November 6, 2015.
(...)
“Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy.’ Perhaps at one time its importance could be limited by forcing it into a larger sandwich category (no disrespect to Reubens and others), but that time has passed, said NHDSC President and ‘Queen of Wien’ Janet Riley. “We therefore choose to take a cue from a great performer and declare our namesake be a “hot dog formerly known as a sandwich.”
The Council has often followed American history and USDA guidance on the issue and fallen on the side of the hot dog as a sandwich. When it first arrived on American shores from Europe in the late 1800s, it was often referred to as a “Coney Island Sandwich” or “Frankfurter sandwich,” but much like an “ice cream sundae” is simply referred to as a sundae, terminology changes.
Newsweek
National Hot Dog Council Has Spoken: A Hot Dog Is Not a Sandwich
BY POLLY MOSENDZ 11/6/15 AT 4:11 PM
A hot dog is not a sandwich, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council ruled on Friday after days, or perhaps decades, of sizzling debate.
USA Today
Is a hot dog a sandwich? Council rules once and for all
Lindsay Deutsch, USA TODAY Network 12:08 p.m. EST November 7, 2015
Yes, the classic American meal-on-the-go is wrapped in bread, smeared with condiments and eaten as a patriotic alternative to, say, a hamburger.
But a hot dog is not a sandwich, according to an official press release from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
Maxim
No, a Hot Dog Is Not a Sandwich
The powers that be have put the old “is a hot dog a sandwich?” question to rest once and for all.
November 9, 2015 By GABRIELLA PAIELLA
For millennia (so, a couple of years on the internet) humanity has wrestling with a philosophical quandary so immense that it has pitted our greatest thinkers against each other and torn friends and family apart. I’m speaking, of course, about the question of whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich.
I, for one, have always believed that nay, a hot dog is not a sandwich. That’s just fucking wrong. And, like always, I am on the right side of history. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, experts in all things weenie-related, have released a statement putting the argument to rest once and for all: ...
The Huffington Post
Red-Hot Debate Rages Over Whether Hot Dogs Are Sandwiches
Give the weenie the recognition it deserves.
Samantha Guff (Editorial Fellow, The Huffington Post)
Posted: 11/10/2015 05:02 PM EST | Edited: 11/10/2015 05:27 PM EST
The results are in, and the wiener overlords have spoken:
Hot dogs are officially not sandwiches.
(...)
The NHDSC’s announcement even reignited our own debate—earlier this year, HuffPost staffers embroiled in the dispute suggested that a “carb ‘holder’ for any meat and/or veggie ‘filling’ fulfills the platonic requirements for sandwich-ness.”
Even the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council cannot disagree with this.
“It’s true, a hot dog is often consumed as a piece of meat between two pieces of bread,” Vice President of the NHDSC Eric Mittenthal told HuffPost, “but there’s lots of meats between two pieces of bread, and they’re not hot dogs. Hot dogs are special.”
Mental Floss
November 11, 2015 - 8:30am
Hot Dog Council Says a Hot Dog is Not a Sandwich
Caitlin Schneider