How This 1 New Menu Item Could Save Burger King

Fast food from the major chains, like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King, is still synonymous with the burger. For some reason, these pucks of ground beef are the centerpiece of fast food menus, joined by chicken (and occasionally pork as a limited-time offer) as the only other meat option. For some reason, the perennial grill mate to burgers, hot dogs, have gotten the short end of the stick, but Burger King is looking to change that, and it might be just what the chain needs to help it get its groove back.

Ever since its "healthier fries," Satisfries, fell like a ton of bricks earlier last year after their much-hyped arrival, the chain has been struggling to find its footing. There's not much differentiating it from its major rivals (which also aren't doing so well), but if hot dogs were made a permanent menu item, it would give them an immediate advantage. According to Consumerist, both corn dogs as well as grilled hot dogs topped with ketchup, mustard, onions, and relish are being tested in Michigan and Maryland for less than $2 each.

Smaller chain Sonic has had luck with its hot dogs, and so has Shake Shack, which got its start as a humble hot dog cart. In the pantheon of fast foods, hot dogs and hamburgers reign supreme, but for some reason it's the burger that's taken the top spot at fast food chains. If Burger King effectively communicates that its hot dogs are made from good ingredients, and rolls them out countrywide, it very well might finally put burgers and dogs on equal footing in the fast food chain world.