Here's Why Hot Dogs Taste So Much Better At The Ballpark

If you ask me why a hot dog always tastes better at the ballpark, I'm going to answer that it's the same reason why popcorn tastes better at the movies or cotton candy at the circus — it's all about the venue. Hot dogs are the all-time classic baseball food, having long ago supplanted peanuts and Cracker Jack. Even the cries of the hot dog vendors are part of the game's ambiance. There is, however, another reason why the hot dogs you buy at baseball games taste so good; it's all because of the steamed buns. Steaming takes away the bun's dry texture and bready flavor. This prevents the condiments from being absorbed by the bread and allows you to savor the flavorful combination of hot dog and sauce at its best.

The easiest way to steam a bun is to pop the just-cooked hot dog into the bun before wrapping the entire thing in foil. The heat from the hot dog, in combination with any moisture it releases inside the foil wrapper, will steam the bun, making it soft and moist. If you've cooked your hot dog in a frying pan with a little bit of water, essentially steam-frying it, you can go one better on the bun-steaming process. Take the foil-wrapped dog, put it in the pan, and cover it. After cooking it for two minutes over low heat, your bun will be just about perfect.

One problem with stadium hot dogs is that all that deliciousness comes at a high price — you might pay up to $9 for a basic hot dog purchased at Wrigley Field (which some say is the baseball stadium with the most expensive hot dog). With that bun-steaming trick in your back pocket, though, you can recreate even over-the-top specialty dogs for your at-home viewing pleasure.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a Slugger Dog that's sold for as much as $40. It's either meant for sharing or for those with Andre the Giant-sized appetites since it measures 16-inches long and comes with a pound of fries. You could scale it back to more normal-sized proportions, though, by using a standard link of jalapeño cheddar sausage and topping it with white cheese sauce, corn relish, tortilla strips, and cilantro crema. Likewise, you could make a smaller dupe of the Texas Rangers' massive 24-inch Boomstick, which has been sold for over $30. To size it down, cover a regular hot dog with chili, cheese, and onions.

Other at-home options include recreating the Rangers' Bacon-Wrapped Dawwg, which is topped with Cotija cheese and pico de gallo, or the Orioles' Chessie which is covered with crab dip, fried green tomatoes, and pickled sweet corn. If you don't live in Maryland, you may not be able to source the Chesapeake-spiced sausage used by the Baltimore-based team, but you can (and should) steam a pretzel bun for extra verisimilitude.