Hot Dogs And Their Buns Are Never The Same Count And There’s An Actual Reason Why

It’s finally happening. You’re throwing the very first barbecue in your newly renovated backyard. The guest list is huge, all your favorite neighbors are coming by to ogle at the brand-spankin’ new setup, and you get to fire up that massive Weber grill you inherited from Dad―the self-appointed pitmaster who taught you everything you know about cooking meat. The only thing left to do is make a quick run to the grocery store and grab all the food. And, being someone who’s partial to hot dogs, you plan on buying a ton of them. After all, you promised yourself you’d be the neighborhood Wiener King from the moment those backyard renovations were put into play.

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But, while standing in the supermarket staring at the packs of hot dogs and their accompanying buns, you notice something that leaves you bamboozled. Why on God’s green Earth are the hot dogs sold in different numbers than the buns? How have you never noticed that before? It’s infuriating, because now you’re going to be left with either bunless dogs or wienerless buns and that makes the perfectionist in you scream until your vocal cords tear. Why is uniformity nowhere to be found in the world of hot dog eating? It turns out there’s a very real reason why.

Why Hot Dogs And Buns Can’t Seem To Pair Up

Because the meat packaging industry is completely separate from the baking industry, there’s no clear line of communication when it comes to putting both the meat and bread on store shelves. When it comes to meat, it’s almost always packaged one pound at a time, and seeing as the average hot dog weighs 1.6 ounces, it only makes sense for each hot dog pack to contain 10 links. On the bun-baking end of things, the equipment used to crank out batches of buns readies them four at a time, so two entire rounds of baking create eight buns, which are then packaged and placed onto store shelves. 

You’d like to think someone from one of these industries would come up with the grand idea to reach out to the other for an epic collaboration that makes buying hot dogs and buns a seamless experience, with no leftover products sitting lonely in your fridge or pantry afterward, eagerly awaiting the next backyard cookout to finally be put to use. In a perfect world, that would happen. But, the world is far from perfect, so this is a minor hiccup we’re all forced to deal with every time barbecue season arrives.

Leftover Hot Dogs And Buns Are Still Useful

Just because you have either leftover hot dogs or empty buns, all hope is far from lost. Give those wieners a dice and toss them into your morning eggs for a savory protein boost. Or, turn those leftover hot dog buns into the perfect miniature subway sandwiches using some delicious cold cuts from the deli. With some simple innovation, those remaining hot dog ingredients go from wasteful to wonderful!