Chicago-style Hot Dogs

When I was a kid, I loved hot dogs. I ate them all the way thru college as a way to extend the budget. But when I became an adult, I put away my childish things, which included hot dogs. Until recently, I probably have eaten no more than 10 hot dogs in the last thirty years or so. Mostly because of the, um, unsavory health reputation they had garnered. 😱 However, a couple of years ago I had an epiphany of sorts and decided to grill some dogs for the Fourth of July. These were garden variety dogs ? dressed only by Heinz ketchup and Kraft yellow mustard. We liked them so much we started to incorporate hot dogs more into meals ? chili dogs, kraut dogs, etc. In my search for the GREATEST hog dog I came across the venerated Chicago Dog.

?A Chicago Style Hot Dog is more than just a Hot Dog; it's a taste sensation with the perfect blend of toppings. A Chicago Style Hot Dog is a steamed all beef Hot Dog topped with yellow mustard, bright green relish, onions, tomato wedges, pickle spear or slice, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt served in the all-important steamed poppy seed bun.?

Ingredients

1. Hot Dogs (Best?s Kosher, Klement?s Beef or Oscar Mayer Deli Style are all rated excellent)
2. Yellow Mustard (French?s or Plochman?s)
3. Relish (Rolf?s ?Deli Style? Sweet Pickle Relish or Sweet Super Green Pickle Relish from the Puckered Pickle Company)
4. Onions (Vidalia or Texas Sweet)
5. Tomato Wedges (Creole or beefsteak)
6. Pickle Spear (Crunchy Deli Pickle Spears from the Puckered Pickle Company or Claussen?s Kosher Deli Spears are recommended)
7. Sport Peppers (Dell? Alpe, Il Primo or Alpino are recommended brands)
8. Celery Salt (don?t forget this ? its makes a surprising difference)
9. Poppy Seed Buns (Instead, I use Pepperidge Farms Hoagie Rolls which are sesame seed)

I never thought I would find the recommended pickle relish or the sport peppers in South Louisiana. We have the Mayer?s Deli dogs and somewhat amazingly, Albertsons stocks the Puckered Pickle Relish (a bright vibrant neon green!) and the Alpino sport peppers (these peppers are some hot and I remove the seeds). Just today, I found the Puckered Pickle Company?s Crunchy Deli Pickle Spears at a local Italian grocery! They are indeed crunchy and not as sour as Claussen?s -- they're good!. (The Publix at Sandestin has sport peppers but not the pickles or relish).

Assembling the Chicago Dog

The following is from: www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/makeyourown.php

?A Chicago Style hot dog is slowly simmered using steam heat until the hot dog reaches approximately 170-180 degrees. Although steam is the preferred method, grilling, heating in water or using the microwave are also acceptable.?
?The toppings are just as important as the order they are applied to the Hot Dog. The goal is to evenly distribute the toppings so you get a taste of each ingredient with every bite. Remember, dress the Dog and not the bun! Start out by placing your heated Hot Dog on the bun and add the toppings in the following order:?

1. Squirt the mustard directly on the dog from one end to the other.
2. Add a generous amount of sweet relish.
3. Then place onions on top of the dog.
4. The tomatoes should be placed along the crevice between between the top of the bun and the hot dog.
5. The pickle should be placed in the crevice between the bottom of the bun and the hot dog.
6. Traditionally two sport peppers are added on top of a Chicago Dog, but the sport pepper is often considered an optional topping.
7. Sprinkle a dash of celery salt over the dog.
8. Enjoy!! 😀

These are great dogs! Please share any favorite hot dog recipes you may have.