Twins to sell Schweigert hot dogs at Target Field | StarTribune.com
Minnesota-made Schweigert hot dogs, a fan favorite when the Twins last played home games outside, have been chosen for the soon-to-be-inaugurated Target Field.
The team also said that Dollar-A Dog Days will continue, moving from Wednesdays to Mondays (except for Opening Day).
Twins officials said that four different Schweigert dogs are filling the void left after the Twins announced late last month that Dome Dogs, made by Austin-based Hormel, were going the way of the Metrodome:
Original Twins Dog: A traditional pork and beef hot dog, it will be made from the same recipe as the ones served in the team’s first ballpark - Metropolitan Stadium - and will be available at many of the park’s concession stands.
Twins Big Dog: The quarter-pound all-beef dog will officially replace the Dome Dog and will be served at portable grills and select concessions stands. As with the Dome Dog, chips are included.
Dugout Dog: An old-fashion pork and beef hot dog in a natural casing, it will be sold in the stands by retro-attired vendors. The dogs will be steamed in vending boxes and placed in a bun when ordered, not pre-wrapped.
Dinger Dog: This extra-long pork and beef dog will also be available at select Hennepin Grille locations at Target Field.
The Twins will be Schweigert’s lone major-league baseball venue. Schweigert has one out major-sports customer in Minnesota, that being the Minnesota Wild.
Prices at Twins games TBD
The Original Twins Dog will be the Dollar-A-Dog offering. Customers will be limited to two hot dogs per person, with a cap of 20,000 dogs for the game.
Prices for each of the four menu offerings have yet to be determined, said Chris Iles, a team spokesman. The quarter-pound all-beef Dome Dogs sold for $5 last season.
“It’s an honor to bring back the original hot dog served at Metropolitan Stadium and provide Twins fans with four great tasting hot dog options,” said Cargill sales and marketing executive David Barocco.
“We are fortunate to be able to offer our fans a variety of hot dogs for the same great value they have come to expect,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said in a written statement. “We’ve made it a priority to incorporate local restaurants and food concepts at Target Field, and we’re pleased to add Schweigert meats to our hometown lineup.”
The Schweigert brand’s roots begin in north Minneapolis in 1937. It is now owned by Twin Cities-based Cargill. All four hot dogs will be made in Cargill’s facility in Albert Lea.
Of the 1.1 million sausages sold at Twins games last year, nearly 400,000 were Dome Dogs, more than any other single sausage product.
Dome Dog infamy
Soon after the team announced that the Dome Dog was given its unconditional release after nine seasons, a “Bring Back The Hormel Dome Dog!” page was created on Facebook. The campaign, however, generated little traction, drawing fewer than 1,000 “friends” after nearly two weeks. As of Monday, only 20 comments were posted on the page, some of those made by the page’s creator.
Dome Dogs were first sold at the Twins home games in 2001. Among the bigger promotions were the Dollar-A-Dog Night on Wednesdays and the Hormel Hot Dog Row of Fame. Those seated in that row received free hot dogs.
The Dome Dog’s most memorable — and infamous — moment came in that first season, when fans pelted former Twin Chuck Knoblauch with $1 hot dogs and assorted debris as he stood in left field for the New York Yankees. The unruliness halted the game and prompted public-address announcer Bob Casey to scold the offenders, “Now quit this!”
Perhaps no concession item is more associated with baseball than the hot dog. In 2008, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, about 30 million hot dogs were consumed at the 30 ballparks across the nation.
The Twins will play exhibition games April 2-3 vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at Target Field, then host their first regular-season home game April 12 against the Boston Red Sox.
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