# Hot Dogs & Ketchup **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 24, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985 "2006-04-24T13:55:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/21 "2006-04-25T01:02:43Z")
> [@Kansas Beekeeper](#): > > I don’t get this thread. If someone wants maple syrup and anchovies on their hot dogs, how is it wrong or anyone else’s business? Get the pitchforks! There he goes! GET HIM! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/22 "2006-04-25T01:26:07Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Just because it says “real beef” doesn’t mean you’re getting a hot dog made from filet mignon. Cow ass is “real beef”. Not if they’re kosher. [http://www.hebrewnational.com/pages/kosher/index.jsp](http://www.hebrewnational.com/pages/kosher/index.jsp) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/23 "2006-04-25T17:44:50Z")
I have to say that, while I’m not a big hot dog fan (as with many anglo type foods I’m at a loss as to why its so popular…sweet Italian sausage now. THATS good IMHO!), a bit of ketchup and spicy mustard does me fine. If its not ‘proper’…well, I’M the one eating it after all. 😉 I’m a ‘to each his own’ kind of guy…and after seeing how some folks butcher mexican food, I’m not particularly picky about what THEY eat…as long as I can get stuff as I like it. Folks who have to define whats ‘proper’ about food preparation either have too much time on their hands or are snobs. I’ll let you eat your butchered mexican food as you like it as long as you don’t mess with my ketchup and mustard smeared hot dog! (BTW, the ONLY good way to have a hot dog is grilled over a mesquite fire…and get the all beef hot dogs from the local carniceria. 😛 ). -XT ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/24 "2006-04-25T20:00:33Z")
The only way to eat a hot dog is grilled on a bun with cheese, peanut butter, and ketchup, all of which helps disguise the inherent blandness. The only way to eat a **good** sausage is with a nice spicy mustard. The only way to eat a sausage onna stick is to remove it from the stick and drop it in front of the scruffy mongrel sitting nearby saying “Bark, bark, woof!”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/25 "2006-04-25T20:44:28Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I like the people who say, “Not that pre-packaged Oscar Meyer crap, I’m talkin’ 'bout REAL beef hot dogs.” > > Just because it says “real beef” doesn’t mean you’re getting a hot dog made from filet mignon. Cow ass is “real beef”. > > Food snobs are in the same class as the fashion police. Two breeds who need to die out. Well, nobody should put down your tastes in food or beer or fashion or whatever, but there is certainly a difference between a mushy Oscar Meyer (as in, I can’t eat it for pleasure), and a natural casing Vienna Beef (or other) hot dog that has a crisp snap to it. If you don’t mind or notice the difference, well, good for you. Some of us do, and get great pleasure when we do discover that perfect hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/26 "2006-04-25T20:55:11Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I have to say that, while I’m not a big hot dog fan (as with many anglo type foods I’m at a loss as to why its so popular…sweet Italian sausage now. THATS good IMHO!), a bit of ketchup and spicy mustard does me fine. If its not ‘proper’…well, I’M the one eating it after all. 😉 I’m a ‘to each his own’ kind of guy…and after seeing how some folks butcher mexican food, I’m not particularly picky about what THEY eat…as long as I can get stuff as I like it. > > Folks who have to define whats ‘proper’ about food preparation either have too much time on their hands or are snobs. I’ll let you eat your butchered mexican food as you like it as long as you don’t mess with my ketchup and mustard smeared hot dog! > > (BTW, the ONLY good way to have a hot dog is grilled over a mesquite fire…and get the all beef hot dogs from the local carniceria. 😛 ). > > -XT I agree. Let me have sour cream on my tacos, and y’all can have ketchup on your hot dogs. 😉 It’s good fun to “play” at being a food snob (as I was in the frozen pizza thread) but really as long as I can eat what I want, I don’t care what you like. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/27 "2006-04-25T21:34:47Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > It’s good fun to “play” at being a food snob (as I was in the frozen pizza thread) but really as long as I can eat what I want, I don’t care what you like. There is a fine distinction between foodie and food snob, though. A foodie doesn’t put down the taste of others, while a food snob does. At any rate, ketchup doesn’t belong on hot dogs in Chicago. It’s simply a matter of tradition (and it tastes gross, too ;)). It’s fun to rib Chicagoans who put ketchup on their hot dogs, because that’s simply not done in our neck of the woods. I don’t care what you fancy New Yorkers or weirdo Los Angeleans do to your dogs, but if you’re from here, I had better not see that sickly sweet red glop on a hot dog in our fair city. (Hey, I’m a lifelong Cubs fan from the South Side, so I get a lot of shit for that, too. I think this playful teasing is part of the fun of living in the city.) What does disturb me, though, is occassionally (maybe 5% of the time) I’ll go to a hot dog stand in Chicago and they’ll give me ketchup on an “everything” dog. Now that’s simply unacceptable. It is understood that “everything on it” does not include ketchup in this town. It doesn’t need to be explicitly stated, and “everything, hold the ketchup” sounds just as absurd like “everything, hold the chocolate syrup” or, perhaps a little less hyperbolically, “everything, hold the mayo.” ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/28 "2006-04-25T22:48:37Z")
Real ketchup is not “sickly sweet red glop”. Homemade from farm fresh tomatoes it’s thinner, spicy, and clean-tasting, not cloying. And it’s great on hot dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/29 "2006-04-25T22:59:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, nobody should put down your tastes in food or beer or fashion or whatever, but there is certainly a difference between a mushy Oscar Meyer (as in, I can’t eat it for pleasure), and a natural casing Vienna Beef (or other) hot dog that has a crisp snap to it. If you don’t mind or notice the difference, well, good for you. Some of us do, and get great pleasure when we do discover that perfect hot dog. According to some hot dog “connoisseurs”, you shouldn’t put ketchup on any hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/30 "2006-04-25T23:13:05Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Real ketchup is not “sickly sweet red glop”. Homemade from farm fresh tomatoes it’s thinner, spicy, and clean-tasting, not cloying. And it’s great on hot dogs. That actually does sound good. > [@](#): > > According to some hot dog “connoisseurs”, you shouldn’t put ketchup on any hot dog. My, my…looks like somebody’s been teased about this. 🙂 Personally, I wouldn’t put any sort of commercial ketchup on any sausage product, but that’s just me. Then again, I’ve been to Germany and have seen…gasp…some adult Germans put ketchup on their bratwurst, which to me is more of an offense than ketchup on a hot dog. You know, it takes all types, and all that… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/31 "2006-04-25T23:25:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > My, my…looks like somebody’s been teased about this. 🙂 Personally, I wouldn’t put any sort of commercial ketchup on any sausage product, but that’s just me. Then again, I’ve been to Germany and have seen…gasp…some adult Germans put ketchup on their bratwurst, which to me is more of an offense than ketchup on a hot dog. You know, it takes all types, and all that… Not really, but people who say this can never tell me the reason. I’m sorry, but “You just don’t do it”, is not an acceptable answer. I blame Clint Eastwood in the first Dirty Harry movie. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/32 "2006-04-26T00:24:13Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Not really, but people who say this can never tell me the reason. I’m sorry, but “You just don’t do it”, is not an acceptable answer. I blame Clint Eastwood in the first Dirty Harry movie. Well, the real reason is that ketchup is kiddie food, that’s why. 🙂 No, ketchup certainly has a long and glorious history with pork and beef products (look at all the BBQ sauces that are based on it.) There obviously is no real reason not to put ketchup on hot dogs other than tradition. (And, for me and many others, taste. Don’t tell anyone this, but I don’t mind ketchup on a hot dog as long as there’s also mustard there to counterbalance the sweetness.) I also suspect ketchup wasn’t a popular condiment in the Old Country and hence the sausage condiment traditions were heavily borrowed from there. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/33 "2006-04-26T00:32:30Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If you have good dogs in Chicago, then why on earth do you ruin them with all the garbage youse guys put on them? (A “Chicago” dog) It’ll be interesting to note that there are plenty of stands in Chicago where “everything on it” does not mean the entire ship of condiments that a traditional Chicago hot dog carries. Where I grew up, and in many fine hot dog establishments around here, the basic condiments are simply yellow mustard, chopped onion, and relish. [Read here for a lively discussion of hot dogs, Polishes, Italian Beefs, and Chicago pizza.](http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8097&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0) This summarizes it: > [@](#): > > Hot dogs here were a revalation: First, the “snap” of the natural casing, which IMHO is a necessity in a true “Chicago Dog” The meat itself is fairly salty, and kind of explodes with the first bite - there’s a good amount of fatty juice (I can’t think of another way to say that, but it’s a good thing.) It has a brighter, sharper flavor, more like actual meat. No particular spice or seasoning is prevalent, but if you really try, you can taste a hint of pepper (sometimes this can linger delightfully on the tongue,) garlic, and something musky like coriander or mace. > > Although the accompaniments define a “Chicago-Style” dog, I had one in my hometown with the old rubbery Oscar Meyer sausage. Fixin’s aren’t enough. There is such a thing as a good hot dog and a bad hot dog. I love my sausages, and I’m happy I’m in a city where so much variety in encased meats abounds. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/34 "2006-04-26T14:09:04Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Real ketchup is not “sickly sweet red glop”. Homemade from farm fresh tomatoes it’s thinner, spicy, and clean-tasting, not cloying. And it’s great on hot dogs. Which is why a Chicago dog _does_ have tomato - in slices or diced - on it. You want to put ketchup on a dog, I’ll just look the other way. But I’m telling you, you’re masking a glorious symphony of flavors working _together_ on a dog prepared the Chicago way. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/35 "2006-04-27T20:37:55Z")
My goodness! The level of passion triggered by the simple weiner and a mild, sweet tomato sauce is remarkable. I don’t have any documentation for this, but it seems to me that some folks’ prejudice against hot dogs and ketchup (or catsup or katchup) is ethnic. Sinclair Lewis’s _The Jungle_ forever linked sausage and Polish immigrants, and processed tomato products got tacked onto the Mexican migrant workers who pick the lovely red tomatoes. There’s a RedGold plant near here, and they make an excellent line of salsas, ketchups, and diced tomatoes. Sadly, some folks I have met can’t talk about tomato products without some snide reference to the Mexican pickers. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/36 "2006-04-27T21:44:54Z")
I find it interesting how fans of so many “low end” foods try to build an “aura” about them in order to make them look less like stuff other people would rather throw out. (E.g., hot dogs, grits, chicken wings, etc.) It’s all baloney (if you’ll pardon the expression). Ketchup is edible, hot dogs aren’t. You’re doing the dogs a favor putting ketchup on them. (And don’t get me started on “natural” casings. Egad.) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/37 "2006-04-27T21:48:06Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Which is why a Chicago dog _does_ have tomato - in slices or diced - on it. > > You want to put ketchup on a dog, I’ll just look the other way. But I’m telling you, you’re masking a glorious symphony of flavors working _together_ on a dog prepared the Chicago way. Baloney. If you want a sweet symphony of flavors, simply eat the dog. Plain. Maybe with a little mustard. TASTE the meat, for goodness sake! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/38 "2006-04-27T23:59:06Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Baloney. > If you want a sweet symphony of flavors, simply eat the dog. Plain. Maybe with a little mustard. TASTE the meat, for goodness sake! 😉 You’re quite correct. A good hot dog should be able to stand up by itself. Even though I do come from the Chicago-style tradition, if it’s a good frank, I’ll only take mustard and perhaps onions on it. And no matter what you think, **ftg** , there are very good hot dogs out there. Natural casings are great; all sausages should come in natural casings. ---
**Author:** ![uberburbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/cab0a1/32.png) [@uberburbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uberburbot)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/39 "2010-12-16T19:06:26Z")
Chicago…wind and wieners. Um, what a city. Eat your wieners however you like I guess. As for the wind, it just blows. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985/40 "2010-12-16T21:09:30Z")
Mmmmmm… Zombie dogs! As for the topic at hand, as long as you don’t smother it, a little ketchup is fine. I put a smear each of ketchup and mustard and leave it at that. I’m from Chicago, but I’ve never subscribed to the so-called “Chicago Hot Dog” recipe (per Cecil): “mustard, relish, chopped onion, sliced tomato, kosher pickle spear, optional peppers, and celery salt.” How the hell can you even taste the dog under all that crap? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hot-dogs-ketchup/353985.md?page=3)