A Brief History of Hot Dogs and Pizza

Pizza Hut launched a hot dog-crusted pizza this month, and America collectively lost its marbles. For good reason, too: The pizza — which features 28 mini hot dogs bites around the crust — is a real feat of pizza engineering and gluttony. And it gives Americans a justified reason to eat pigs in a blanket and pizza for dinner. However, the Hot Dog Bites Pizza is far from the first pie to mix tube sausage and pizza — people have been topping pizzas with sliced hot dogs in many countries. Most notably, it's not even the first time Pizza Hut has combined the two. Below, a brief history of hot dogs as pizza crust:

2006

Pizza Hut Japan (and outposts of the chain in other Asian countries) has been experimenting with a hot dog crust as early as 2006. Hot dogs are placed in a ring around the pizza atop a layer of cheese. The crust is then folded over the hot dogs every few inches so parts of the hot dogs are visible. Peek at the ad for the pizza below (and the flip phone):

2012

Pizza Hut took a version of its hot dog-crusted pizza to the United Kingdom in 2012. Similar to a cheese-stuffed crust pizza, this version featured a "succulent" ring of hot dogs baked under a layer of crust. Best of all (wurst of all?) the pie came with a mustard drizzle.

2013

The UK apparently loves hot dog-crusted pizza. Domino's UK launched a version shortly after Pizza Hut. While the Pizza Hut version came with a mustard drizzle on the crust, Domino's just slathered the mustard inside the crust. People loved it so much, there is now a petition to bring it back.

Not to be out maneuvered, Pizza Hut UK launched its Hot Dog Bites Pizza. Like the American version, it features 28 pull-apart mini hot dogs and a side of mustard dip. Somehow, it would take two years for this pizza to cross the pond.

2015

May
A month before Pizza Hut unleashed its hot dog crust pizza stateside, the Fresno Grizzlies, a minor league baseball team, dished up the Frankenslice to fans at their May 21 game. Each slice featured a whole hot dog and was sold for $7.

The @FresnoGrizzlies sold 1,539 slices of pizza with a hot dog at the crust for $7 each pic.twitter.com/BNATNgADt5 #concessions #GoMarketing

— Edison HS Marketing (@EHSMKTG) May 23, 2015

June
Pizza Hut debuts its Hot Dog Bites Pizza. People from the Internet — and restaurants around the country — proceed to make their own versions, including one that is vegan.