WASHINGTON — Americans still enjoy consuming their sausage throughout the day, according to a new online poll commissioned by the National Hot Dog&Sausage Council and conducted by Harris Interactive from Aug. 16–18, among 2,112 US adults.

Eighty-two percent of adults surveyed percent eat sausage, according to the poll, which includes 87 percent of men and 77 percent of women.


Sausages have been around for more than 20 centuries, which is a testament to both their popularity and their staying power, said National Hot Dog and Sausage Council President Janet Riley. “New flavors and products and many great tasting old standards have both enjoyed steady category growth,” she added.

Fifty-four percent of surveyed adults said they most often eat sausage at breakfast, compared to 26 percent at dinner and 4 percent at lunch. More women than men, 30 percent to 21 percent, respectively, most often eat sausage at dinner. Those in the Northeast (35 percent) are significantly more likely to eat sausage at dinner compared to those in the South (22 percent) or West (20 percent).

Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said breakfast sausage is their favorite. Twenty-five percent prefer Italian sausage; 18 percent bratwurst; 14 percent kielbasa; 7 percent chorizo; 3 percent andouille; and 5 percent said other.

Forty-one percent of Northeasterners, more than any other region in the country, chose Italian sausage as their favorite type of sausage to eat, while 32 percent of Southerners chose breakfast sausage. Bratwurst was most popular in the Midwest, with 29 percent choosing it as their favorite to eat. Chorizo was most popular in the West, with 13 percent selecting it as their favorite.

Breakfast sausage was the only type of sausage more US women preferred than men (30 percent to 24 percent, respectively). Men are more likely to prefer bratwurst when compared to women (21 percent to 15 percent, respectively).

More than half of Americans who eat sausage (54 percent) prefer sausage links compared to sausage patties (25 percent), while 21 percent have no preference. Approximately two out of three Northeasterners (64 percent) prefer sausage links over patties, more than any other region in the US. Of those who chose patties as their favorite, one in three (33 percent) are in the Midwest.