Good Food

The age old question is a hot dog a sandwich? Many people have debated whether or not this delicacy is a true sandwich. Most of the stuff you find online is opinion based which is not right. We need a clear and direct answer to this mind boggling question. Let’s take a deep dive into what these words mean and the regulations a food has to meet to be considered a sandwich. 

According to the NHDSC (National Hot dog and Sausage Council) “Limiting the hot dog’s significance by saying it’s ‘just a sandwich’ is like calling the Dalai Lama ‘just a guy’.” They believe that the hot dog cannot be put into one single category. The word hot dog can also express excitement. If you won the lottery you would say “Hot-Dog!” Not “Sand-wich” What I’m getting at is the words hot dog and sandwich are not interchangeable. This makes the word it’s own separate thing. The hot dog has already ingrained itself into the minds of Americans as its own thing. The scary thing is people knew this already but you get one person that wants to start some controversy and soon enough everyone is losing their minds over a question that has already been answered. The hot dog is so unique and iconic in 21st century America that insane people think they can put the hot dog into one single food category. 

Now, some of these sandwich requirement rules from the USDA are a little iffy. If you think of a hot dog in your head you probably think of an open faced type sandwich. The most important requirement for an open faced sandwich is it needs to hold at least 50% cooked meat. This one really depends on the size of buns and bread. For a sandwich to be considered closed it must contain at least 35% meat and no more than 50% bread. Another important requirement is it must consist of 2 slices of bread or bun on the top or bottom but these types of sandwiches are not required for inspection so a hotdog would not make it through a sandwich inspection. These rules really don’t help us a ton in figuring out our problem. I don’t think you could classify the hot dog as an open or closed face sandwich. There is nothing that definitively says that it’s either. But if you really wanted to bend the rules and get really technical you could say it’s a closed face sandwich. 

We have looked at a couple of different sources. I think we have drawn the best possible conclusion which is that a hot dog is not considered a sandwich. It should be its own food group. It is such an American classic that it should be celebrated more. Same with Brats those should be celebrated more too. I believe I have come up with the best solution for the problem. This is where the debates stop. The world is saved, We’ve ended world hunger and everyone lives peacefully till the end of time.