Today we ask the age old question, is a hot dog a sandwich? Let’s talk about that.
It’s a question that has sparked many heated debates. So which is it? Is it a sandwich or not? Unfortunately, the answer is not so cut and dry.
Google defines a sandwich as “an item of food consisting of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or other filling between them.” So there it is, a hot dog is not a sandwich. What this fails to consider is that not all sandwiches have two slices of bread, and some sandwiches use a medium that isn’t bread to contain their fillings.
An open faced sandwich is something many consider to be a sandwich, yet if we follow this definition, it would not be considered a sandwich. Not to mention, it would then mean that a sandwich that doesn’t use bread, like an ice cream sandwich, is not technically a sandwich, when they by all means are a sandwich.
This also calls into question, what about sub sandwiches? They don’t use two pieces of bread, but rather one roll that has been cut down the middle. A sub is still very much a sandwich, and yet again following a definition like this would mean this isn’t a sandwich, it would also mean hot dogs aren’t either.
We could look at other definitions of a “sandwich” such as a definition from Merriam-Webster which states, “two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between.” So hot dogs are a sandwich? There are still some problems, this definition again doesn’t consider open faced and non bread sandwiches.
This is a matter beyond dictionary definitions, and instead we must rely on ourselves to provide this answer. We the people know what is and isn’t a sandwich, much more than a dictionary could define.
If you were to ask someone for a sandwich, and they bring to you a hot dog, you’d be in every right to be angry with them, but if they brought you a sub sandwich, there would be no issue. So does this solve the problem? Not exactly, if they brought you an ice cream sandwich, you would again have every right to be upset, even if they did in fact bring to you a sandwich.
In most arguments about the topic you’d see debate over the bread, “Hot dogs are a sandwich, subs cut their bread the same way!” “Hot dogs couldn’t possibly be a sandwich! They use hot dog buns!” It’s easy to see why bread is the big topic, if sandwiches use 2 pieces of bread, what about subs, what about sandwiches with one piece of bread. If you were to take the inside of a turkey sandwich, and put them into a hot dog bun, it would be a roll, or a mini sub sandwich if you will. Since a hot dog also uses a hot dog bun, it should be a sandwich.
What few call into question, is the fillings.
Of course, it makes sense why fillings are never really spoken about, there is just too much variety. PB&Js, ham sandwiches, fruit sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, so then if hot dogs have the bread, and if a sandwich can have pretty much every filling, a hot dog is a sandwich, right?
You are headed to the grocery store getting some shopping for the upcoming party done. All of the things that you need to buy are on your shopping list. You get all your shopping done, crossing off items as you go, it’s all easy going. This all changes when you get to one particular item on your list, ‘Hot dogs.’
Where do you go? What do you buy? You don’t go to the bread aisle for buns, that’s a separate item on the list. You don’t go to the condiments, they are all also listed as separate items. You don’t grab jalepeños, you aren’t reaching for relish, you don’t grab any of those.
Instead you start walking towards the cold foods section of the store.
You look around the various fridges and freezers until you find the one with all of the deli meats. After looking around for a bit, you find it, and you pickup a package, and on that package it says “Hot dogs.”
There it is. The answer we’ve been looking for. A hot dog is not a sandwich, it is a hot dog. What makes a hot dog a hot dog, is not the bread, not the toppings nor the condiments, it is the actual hot dog link itself.
A simple question turned heated internet debate, with seemingly no answer. It was all too easy to get caught up asking what makes a sandwich a sandwich, but few asked what makes a hot dog a hot dog. Sometimes the answer to the hardest questions can be found in the simplest places.
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