A healthier hot dog

What better way to celebrate National Hot Dog Day than to return to your roots and roll out a new product?

Mark Rosen, vice president of Marathon Enterprises, makers of Sabrett hot dogs, brought the new all natural hot dog to Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park on July 23. Rosen, who grew up in Merrick, was joined by County Legislators Rose Marie Walker, chair of the Health and Social Services committee, and Francis Becker, who serves as vice chair, and Kathy Munsch, vice president of the American Heart Association.

Peter’s has been serving Sabrett’s hot dogs from an old cart for all of its 75 years in business. A new cart will stay at the restaurant to replace the one that has been there for all those years.

The new hot dog contains no added nitrates or nitrites; they are gluten and preservative free, have a low sodium [salt] content, no fillers and are skinless.

National Hot Dog day is actually the third Wednesday of July [except when Wednesday falls on July 1st, then it is held on the 4th Wednesday]. “One year, the event was held on July 23 and now everyone thinks that’s the date of National Hot Dog Day,” states Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council. “More than 20 billion dogs are served in the U.S. annually,” Riley said, “over 25 million are sold at baseball stadiums each year, the favorite being the Cleveland Indians dog served at Progressive Field.”

Riley noted that a recent Harris Poll, on behalf of the council, found mustard is still the favorite topping at 71 percent, followed by ketchup, then onions, chili and relish. In addition Riley, the “Queen of Wein” said topping favorites vary by location; the northeast likes sauerkraut, while chili, cheese and coleslaw top dogs in the south, Midwesterners like ketchup and the west goes for the kick of relish with jalapenos.

Sabrett was founded in 1926, and sells more than 35 million pounds of hot dogs throughout New York City. The company is known for a blue and yellow umbrella over a stainless steel pushcart.

Hot dogs have a long history. They are mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey as far back as 9 B.C. Although Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, is credited with originating the frankfurter, other say a “little-dog” sausage was created in the late 1600’s by Johann Georghehner, a butcher, living in Coburg, Germany, who later traveled to Franfurt. In 1871, Charles Feltman, a German butcher opened up the first Coney Island hot dog stand selling 3,684 dachshund sausages in a milk roll during his first year in business.