I love coney island style hot dogs, which are not to be confused with chili dogs. Coney islands follow a basic formula of a natural casing wiener, adorned with meat sauce, chopped raw onions, and yellow mustard. There are variations of them around the midwest, usually at shops started by Greek families two or three generations ago. Some of the more famous include American Coney in Detroit, Skyline and Gold Star in Ohio, and of course, Deluxe Coney in my home town of Duluth.
On occasion, I make my own sauce at home, whipping up a batch large enough to consume immediately, and freeze the rest in sandwich bags to take out whenever I have the urge over the succeeding couple of months.
My recipe has been developed and fine tuned over many years, and is similar to the sauces listed above, but not identical. Each establishment has their own ‘secret ingredient’, I am sure.
Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce Recipe
Ingredients for Sauce:
- 6 C water
- 1 6 oz can of tomato paste
- 4 t chili powder
- 1 t salt
- 1 t allspice
- 1 t garlic powder
- 1 t cinnamon
- 4 t cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 finely diced onions, one for broth, one for assembly later
- 2 pounds 85/15 ground beef
- High quality, natural casing hot dogs (I used StoneRidge these days)
- Buns
- Yellow mustard
Method:
Bring the water to a boil, and add and stir in the tomato paste. When thoroughly mixed, add the dry spices and herbs. Now here’s the twist, which is different that I usually would have done in the past, but it really works for this. Crumble the beef RAW into the broth, and the onions, and simmer for three hours or until reduced to a thickness that you prefer. You may have to further crumble the beef while cooking with a wooden spoon or potato masher, but chances are the hot water will do the job for you. I usually end up cooking for considerably longer than three hours, reducing my concoction to a thick and meaty sauce. (An entire day sometimes).
Assembly:
Steam or griddle fry your dogs, place one on a bun slathered with yellow mustard. Ladle a quantity of chili to your personal preference and dust with diced onion.
Pictorial, step by step:
6 C water, 6 oz tomato paste
Spice / herb combination
Water, tomato paste, spices boiling
Crumble raw beef into ‘soup’
Finely diced onions
Lunch time!
Coney Island Recipe
Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce Recipe
Greek Coney Island Sauce Recipe
Greek Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce Recipe
StoneRidge Wieners