Field’s Guide to Safe Campfire Cooking

Camping season is upon us, and, for the seasoned campers among us, cooking over a campfire is bound to re-kindle all sorts of great family memories.

If you want to introduce your kids to the joys of cooking over an open fire, Field® hot dogs are a great way to do it. Since Field® hot dogs come fully cooked, there’s no need to worry about undercooking them as there may be with other meat products. And since they always taste delicious, your kids are likely to have them skewered on a roasting fork before you can even say, “Help yourself!”

However, to make sure the memories you’re making are good ones (and not ones involving a painful burn!), here is our checklist for creating a safe campfire-cooking experience.

    1. First of all, make sure having a fire is permitted in your area. Many areas of the country restrict fire-building during parts of the year due to dry conditions and potential forest fire hazards.
    2. If fire is allowed, make sure to not overbuild the fire. While a six-foot-tall inferno may look impressive, glowing embers are actually better for cooking than raging flames, as they’re less likely to catch your food on fire and are more comfortable to sit around. Additionally, a big fire arranged in a teepee or log cabin-like structure may collapse as the wood burns, creating a dangerous situation for anyone gathered near.
    3. If it’s windy out, stack extra wood upwind from the fire to create a windbreak. Since oxygen fuels a fire, this can help create a calmer, less chaotic fire.
    4. Equip yourself with roasting forks that are 24″ or longer. Anything shorter and your kids may need to lean in closer to the fire than is safe or comfortable. There are plenty of roasting forks available for purchase in the 32″ to 45″ range. A grill grate that sets up over and across a campfire is another option if preferred over roasting forks.
    5. If using roasting forks, advise your kids not to run with them or swing them around carelessly. The tines can be sharp, and the food on it scalding hot (or even ablaze!), and both running and swinging create situations that increase the likelihood of someone else getting hurt.
    6. Protect bare skin by wearing pants and closed-toe shoes. Even though summer nights may be warm, wearing these items protects bare skin from the occasional spark that may snap, crackle, pop right out of the fire from time to time.
    7. Be prepared for the unexpected by having water or a fire extinguisher on hand. Most fire departments recommend having five gallons of water on hand to pour on a fire at the end of the night to put it out completely, so it’s wise to have that ready from the beginning.
    8. Last but not least, always have an adult to supervise kids around a fire at all times and never leave a campfire unattended.

With just a little bit of know-how, preparation and caution, you can expect to have some of the best nights of the year cooking over the campfire with your family.

Which U.S. City Has the Best Hot Dog?

If, like millions of other families, you find your summer travel plans on hold this year, you can still take a classic American road trip–via your taste buds!

From East Coast to West Coast, try making these classic American creations with your favorite Field franks and wieners. Then, let us know: which U.S. city has the best take on the hot dog?

New York

new york style hot dogs with pushcart sauce made with caramelized onions, ketchup and brown sugar

While NYC lays claim to a few different hot dog styles, this version’s smothered in “pushcart sauce.” Caramelize some onions, stir in ketchup and some brown sugar, ladle that on top of a boiled wiener and bada bing, bada boom, you got yourself a New York-style hot dog.

Atlanta

atlanta style hot dog topped with coleslaw

Down south, they like their dogs “dragged through the garden.” That means buried beneath some cool, creamy, crunchy coleslaw. Additional vegetable matter optional. Y’all are welcome.

Detroit

detroit style hot dog with beef chili, raw onions and mustard

While nowhere near New York’s Coney Island, Detroit nevertheless popularized the Coney Dog. Beefy chili, shredded cheddar and diced raw onion are all you need.

Chicago

chicago style hot dog with neon relish, onions, tomato wedges, dill pickle spear, yellow mustard, sport peppers, celery salt and poppyseed bun

Perhaps the Windy City is worried about their hot dogs blowing away, so Chicagoans weigh them down with these seven ingredients: yellow mustard, neon relish, tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, sport peppers, sweet onion and celery salt. Don’t forget the poppyseed bun and the rule about ketchup: none. Ever.

Kansas City

kansas city style hot dog like a reuben sandwich with sauerkraut, thousand island or mustard and melted swiss cheese on a sesame seed bun

Kansas City’s hot dog is an homage to the Reuben: melted Swiss cheese, piles of sauerkraut and your choice of either brown mustard or Thousand Island, all on a sesame seed bun.

Phoenix

phoenix style hot dog wrapped in bacon and topped with jalapeños, pinto beans

If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the Southwest. Also called a Sonoran dog, a Phoenix dog is wrapped in bacon before disappearing beneath a blanket of jalapeños, pinto beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, mustard and mayo.

Seattle

seattle style hot dog with cream cheese, jalapeños, grilled onions and sriracha

Cream cheese is what sets Seattle apart from the rest of the country. To that, add grilled onions, jalapeños and Sriracha, and it will never rain on your flavor parade.

Bologna, So Many Varieties

And No Wonder, It’s Just Plain Good!

Young woman in Bologna enjoying Bologna.

Bologna has been around for centuries, but did you know there are many varieties and names, such as polony, pariser and Lebanon. We at Field did. That’s why we have select flavors to match your cravings. We carefully blend our spices to create the perfect taste to each and every bite. To learn more about bologna follow this.

Share your stories about bologna.

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Mutton Glutton Challenge World Record

Kentucky Legend Sponsors First Ever Mutton Eating Contest

The best eaters from around the world gathered at 2017 Int’l BBQ Festival Mutton Glutton Slider Challenge. The rules, eat as many sliders as possible in 10 minutes. The purse, $4000. Who wouldn’t want to chow down some mutton sliders for that prize money? Joey Chestnut, the current #1 ranked competitive eater, sure did. Scarfing down 55 mutton sliders in the allotted time, Joey Chestnut not only won, he set a world record.

Check out the full video.

The Not So Clear History of the Hot Dog

“Dachshund” dog or hot dog?


At Field, we love all things hot dog, which is why we offer a brief history on the origin and evolution of one of our favorite products.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, is traditionally credited with originating the frankfurter. The popular sausage was known as a “dachshund” or “little-dog” sausage.

It continued under that name for centuries, even in the US, where it was very popular. That seemingly changed in 1901 on a cold April day at the NY Polo Grounds. Vendors were hawking hot dogs from portable hot water tanks shouting “They’re red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they’re red hot!” A New York Journal sports cartoonist observed the scene and hastily drew a cartoon of barking dachshund sausages nestled warmly in rolls. Not sure how to spell “dachshund” he simply wrote “hot dog! And there you have it.

For a more detailed history of the hot dog click here.

We at Field know that hot dogs make people happy and put smiles on their faces. In fact all this summer we are collecting happy smile photos from all of our fans. We hope you will share the next smile photo you take by clicking here.

Exploration Station is On a Roll

Exploration Station is making a difference!

Exploration Station was developed during the spring of 2016 at the behest of DCPS elementary school principals to help address “Summer Slide”. Summer Slide is the loss of learning that takes place during breaks from academic activity.

Specialty Foods Group is a proud sponsor of Exploration Station. Since it began operation more than 325 children per week have utilized educational services on the bus. While each site offers different services based upon student educational needs, most neighborhood visits feature some combination of reading and literacy skills, math skills and games, science experiments, physical activities and arts and crafts. In addition to academic resources, students at most sites are also provided with a nutritious lunch through the DCPS Summer Feeding Program.

Check out this short video and see what happens when you pack a whole lot of fun learning experiences into one big bus. We call it the Exploration Station.