The Truth About Joey Chestnut's Line Of Condiments
Have you ever watched Joey Chestnut eat a hot dog? ESPN provides you the opportunity for 10 minutes every year on July 4, during Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. It's not pretty. Some people on Twitter have reported feeling sick from the mere sight of a sweating man pressing frankfurters and water-soaked buns into his face as fast as possible. Speed is so important that Chestnut uses a technique pioneered by previous hot dog champion Takeru Kobayashi (via Business Insider): He separates dog from bun and dips the bun in water to make it easier to chew. Skip the ketchup, mustard, and relish. Water is the only condiment Chestnut allows himself when competing.
When Chestnut isn't eating hot dogs in competitions, he's eating them to practice for competitions. He went through more than 90 pounds of dogs in the lead-up to the 2020 Nathan's event, according to the New York Post. Hot dogs are Chestnut's paycheck, so it's hard to imagine him eating them for pleasure — you know, just one or two on a styrofoam plate at a backyard barbecue, with all the fixings and potato chips on the side. As jarring as that image might be, Chestnut knows some people do eat hot dogs like that. He's put his name on a line of condiments intended to help his fans enjoy their hot dogs like normal human beings. You can buy Chestnut's coney sauce, spicy brown mustard, and more on his website.
Joey Chestnut doesn't offer ketchup, says it's 'for kids'
If Joey Chestnut is going to market hot dog condiments, then ketchup and mustard are must-haves, right? Well, not quite. Chestnut does offer the Spicy Brown Firecracker Mustard, basically a mustard and horseradish blend, per Chestnut's website. The red stuff in Chestnut's condiment lineup isn't ketchup, however; it's Boardwalk Coney Sauce. Traditional coney sauce, like the recipe published in The Spruce Eats, includes ground beef and is similar to chili except much thinner. Chestnut's version dispenses with the beef and includes tomato concentrate, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and other spices. As Chestnut says on his website, "Face it, ketchup on hot dogs is for kids." Mustard and coney sauce both come in bottles slightly larger than 12 ounces for $6.
Hot dogs made Chestnut famous, but he's a chicken wing champion, too. He won Philadelphia's Wing Bowl in 2007 and once ate 413 Hooters chicken wings in 12 hours — not in a competition but merely to take advantage of the chain's $15.99 all-you-can-eat deal (via USA Today). So it's totally appropriate for Chestnut to serve up a line of wing sauces, too.
He's a wing champ, too: Joey Chestnut offers chicken wing sauces
Joey Chestnut offers variety, with four $8 wing sauces that can also be used as dipping sauces or glazes, per Chestnut's website. They range from "mild" to "hot," but one person's hot is another person's mild, so you'll have to taste for yourself. On the low end of the heat spectrum is the Creamy Green Hatch & Jalapeño Wing & Dipping Sauce, which contains buttermilk and is smoky with a "slight jalapeño kick." Next up is Sweet Sriracha Teriyaki Wing & Finishing Sauce. "A few of my favorite pairings are Brussel sprouts (with bacon), sushi, and grilled chicken over rice," Chestnut wrote in the description for this sauce. (So he does eat something other than hot dogs!)
Chestnut's hotter wing sauce offerings are the Orange Citrus Habanero and the Nashville Hot Chicken Wing & Finishing Sauce. Chestnut claims you can't buy anything else that tastes like his citrus habanero sauce.
While Chestnut's condiment line is yet another way for him to cash in on food — he earns $10,000 every time he wins Nathan's hot dog eating contest, according to Sporting News — he has been known to give his sauce profits to charity. In the first couple of weeks after his line launched in summer 2018, all proceeds went to Hidden Heroes, a charity that supports military caregivers (via The Daily Meal). Around Christmas 2018, Chestnut donated condiment profits to Toys for Tots (via Instagram).