Hot Dog Styles

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Now my wife, on the other hand, is from Cinci, so her favorite is a Skyline Coney.

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Me, too. I'm a native Cincinnatian, moved away 17 years ago, and I still dream of Skyline ... those soft little 'dogs on a softer bun, mustard, chili and a big pile of cheddar -- grated raw onions if you're not on a date (or don't want to be on that date). I can still see them lined up on the rack as the cooks topped them. I miss it. (When I go back, it's one of the five things I head for.)

At Yankee stadium, though, it's a big Yankee dog, with yellow mustard and sweet relish.

At the Modesto A's stadium (way long ago), though, it was creole mustard and nothing else.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

(Skyline and Gold Star (I think it's Gold Star?)) that make Cincinnati Chili.  Skyline is fit for human consumption, Gold Star is for luddites and beasts. 

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Pete Rose's favorite chili!

[bavila]

Because when I've been in New York and Chicago I haven't bothered with hot dogs (yet) -- in Norfolk, Virginia, Dog-n-Burger -- Hebrew National well-done with chili and mayo, served with crinkle cut fries, all in a brown paper bag. Mmm... two please.

[John]

There are so many styles of dogs that it's hard to pick just one. Especially if you live in New Jersey. We have the greatest variety of hot dogs anywhere. There are Texas Weiners, which themselves can be broken down into 2 groups; North Jersey or Hot Texas Weiners, consisting of a deep fried beef/pork dog topped with thin chili sauce, mustard, and onions; and the Plainfield area Texas Weiner, which is grilled rather than deep fried, and has a thicker chili.

We also have Italian Hot Dogs which originated and are unique to Jersey. A circular or half moon shaped piece of Italian or "pizza bread" stuffed with deep fried beef hot dogs, onions, peppers, and thin sliced potatoes.

There are "dirty water dogs" which are dogs heated in water. The next batch is put in the water flavored from the previous batch. Although the famous Sabrett brand is though of as a New York dog, the company was born on Henderson and Cole Streets in Jersey City, N.J. It was sold a few times, and is now owned by Marathon Enterprises of East Rutherford, N.J.

We have dogs that are specially made for deep frying. They contain soy protein concentrate and semolina which aid in frying and cause the dog to expand and the skin to rip. Places like Rutt's Hut, Hiram's, and Libby's are known for their fried dogs.

There are also German style beef and pork dogs that are cooked on a griddle. The Galloping Hill Inn, Max's, and the Windmill are good examples of hot dogs in this style. Karl Ehmer's in Hillsdale has a cart that serves a great German style dog.

Jersey also has great kosher style all beef dogs; none better than Syd's in Union, N.J. which serves a foot long Best brand dog with a great natural casing. This dog is simmerred in water and than char grilled. As good a dog as you will have.

I like all of the styles. I have what I'm in the mood for. With the exception of the Italian Hot Dog, and the Texas Weiner, I prefer just mustard on my dog. I believe the focus should be on the dog rather than the toppings. That's why I'm not crazy about the Chicago dog, which to me has too much junk on it. It's really a salad dog. Deli mustard is perfect on a beef dog, Dusseldorf mustard on a beef/pork dog.

[HungryChris]

I like a natural casing all beef dog cooked in ( I know I am mostly alone in this) boiling water. Why, you ask? The first hot dog I ever took a second look at because I thought it was really good was cooked that way. I also get satisfaction from seeing the pools of fat collect on the surface of the boiling water in which the dog in question is being cooked and revel in excluding this from my veins. I poke little holes in the dogs as they cook with the little skewers intended for sealing up the stuffing in a roasting turkey with string, to this end.

As far as how I like to eat them, I used to be a mustard and relish guy in my youth, but have changed to alternating between sour kraut mustard and raw onions and chili and raw onions in my "older youth". Please do not put catsup on a dog anywhere near where I can see it!

I like Deutchmiester(sp), Sabrett and as far as non all beef, Saugys. Any and all of these must be on a straight sided New England style toasted roll ( I used to use butter, but now toast with a bit of olive oil and can't tell the difference).

Cheers,

HC

[Susan in FL]

I love hot dogs. Speaking of hot dogs, click here for a most awesome hot dog thread. It is what turned me on to Usinger's, which changed my hot dog life.

I like ketchup and onions on mine.

[annanstee]

For me, a Chicago-style dog means neon green relish, bright yellow mustard, tomato slices, a pickle spear, onions, hot peppers, and celery salt on a poppyseed bun. I was fortunate enough to live in Chicago for a while where I had places like Gold Coast Hot Dogs & Fluky's Hot Dogs to pick from.

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The only thing missing is the cucumber

[Chris Amirault]

So much to say about hot dogs, and so little time....

I replied earlier but then got to thinking..... what about corn dogs?  Do they count?

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Good question. Does anyone make a good corn dog, or are they all frozen, food service corporation atrocities? Surely some state fair food stand genius must exist in the corn belt....

At Yankee stadium, though, it's a big Yankee dog, with yellow mustard and sweet relish.

At the Modesto A's stadium (way long ago), though, it was creole mustard and nothing else.

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Went to Fenway Pahk last month and had a Fenway Frank, which I remember (and Julia Child claimed) to be better than it actually is. Bland, no pop dog in an oversteamed sticky bun. Some things in life oughta be really good on principle, you know?

(Skyline and Gold Star (I think it's Gold Star?)) that make Cincinnati Chili.  Skyline is fit for human consumption, Gold Star is for luddites and beasts. 

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Pete Rose's favorite chili!

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That seems to prove detlefchef's point right there!

[kellycolorado]

I've been buying hot dogs more lately since my daughter has decided she's crazy about them. I've been getting the Whole Foods all beef franks (no nitrates for the little ones) with saurkraut and yellow or spicy mustard, plain or with ketchup for our daughter.

When I'm back home visiting though, it's a coney at Lafayette Coney Island traditional style with the hot dog, chili, yellow mustard and onions. Growing up for me it was always a "loose" (hamburger) light chili or loose plain (to which I'd add ketchup), usually late at night. Ah, memories.

[oggi]

For me, a Chicago-style dog means neon green relish, bright yellow mustard, tomato slices, a pickle spear, onions, hot peppers, and celery salt on a poppyseed bun. I was fortunate enough to live in Chicago for a while where I had places like Gold Coast Hot Dogs & Fluky's Hot Dogs to pick from.

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The only thing missing is the cucumber

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Amen to that....I think I once read the Chicago style dog affectionately referred to as "A hot dog that was dragged through the garden".

I had never known how attached I was to the Chicago style dog until I moved and lived in Cincinnati for 4 years. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the Skyline coneys...with the mountain of cheese on top of the chili....yum.... But being a Chicago boy at heart I began making Chicago style for my new Cincy friends...they thought I was crazy.

Well, I guess I am actually...but I meant, in relation to how I like to eat a hot dog.

[CharityCase]

I'm surprised to be the first Canadian to make note of a few of our special hot dog intricacies.

First, we go to Quebec, where a debate larger than language and sovereignty is still transpiring: steamé ou toasté? In other words, do you want your bun and/or weiner put in low steam for a few minutes, or a toasted bun (sliced vertically in both cases)? I favour the toasté usually but it's hard to beat the almost cottonball texture of a steamed bun soaking in weiner juices.

Still in Quebec, there's simply no debate on what to put on your...say it with me in your francophone accent ..."Ought Dog". you simply want it....again..."all dress" or "alldresss". Depending on where you're getting this ought dog all dress will always mean thinly-sliced cabbage, but I've seen a couple of other additions at various casse croutes (literally "break bread" but referring to the many snack shops and grease pits along Quebec's highways and byways) in La Belle Province. I take all-dressed to at least be mustard, relish, cabbage or coleslaw, and sometimes onions. NO KETCHUP!

Now, in your best french repeat after me: "Deux ought dogs alldress avec le pepsi". See what you've just done? You've sounded the universal call of the casse croute customer.

While still in Quebec, but perhaps encompassing other areas of this country is the Pogo: a battered deep-fried hot dog. It's a corn dog, and as long as you eat it with a sweet and hot mustard you'll still be patriotic.

Now at this point in the post I realize I have nothing to say about hot dogs elsewhere in Canada. Quebec has really mastered the many wonderful aspects of mystery meat in mystery casing.

[The Hersch]

I love hot dogs.  Speaking of hot dogs, click here for a most awesome hot dog thread.  It is what turned me on to Usinger's, which changed my hot dog life.

I like ketchup and onions on mine.

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Your taste in hotdog brands is impeccable. Have you ever tried Usinger's veal wieners? They're magnificent. As are their Bavarian wieners, although I don't know what's particularly Bavarian about them. On the other hand, while there is no quarrelling with taste, the idea of putting ketchup on one of these...well, I will say no more.

Another excellent source of all kinds of sausages, including wieners but also wonderful things like Nürnberger Bratwurst and Münchner Weißwurst is the Bavaria Sausage Company, whose website is HERE.

In the backwater where I find myself at the moment, the best hotdogs to be found locally are at Harris Teeter, the Dietz and Watson wieners with natural casing. These are beef and pork. I know many prefer an all-beef product, but the Dietz and Watson All-Beef New York Franks they also carry don't have a natural casing (I think they're skinless), and to me excellence in a hotdog requires that it pop when you bite into it. I was home for lunch this afternoon and had two D&W wieners, boiled, on soft rolls with good strong Dijon mustard and some of my own home-made bread & butter pickles. In my view, the hotdog/wiener/frankfurter is a classic boiling sausage, which wouldn't be grilled or fried in Germany (the fatherland of sausages).

[detlefchef]

Well, for some strange reason I've been craving hot dogs over the last few days...go figure. Well today around lunch time I will filling up my gas tank next door to a local hot dog chain, The Doghouse. I'd never been to one before and thought I'd buy one for the road. I ordered a "German Shepherd" which is a hot dog with kraut and mustard.

First off, even more so than pizza, I believe the phrase "Even when they're bad, they're good" applies to hot dogs. I mean, honestly, when was the last time you remember having a "bad" hot dog. That said, it was a very bizzare shade of red, but only on the outside. Otherwise, it was a sound hot dogs as they go.

[Chris Amirault]

detlefchef, where is that place located? It sounds like our Spike's, which serves an excellent dog in that very fashion. Maybe a German Shepherd is a broadly-used moniker....

[NulloModo]

I can't believe I forgot about this place, but I suddenly have to post a plug for Deer Head Hot Dogs.

Deer Head is something of a North DE institution. Their hotdogs are split down the middle, cooked on a griddle, and served up with a really tasty, but bizarre chili sauce which I still can't seem to identify all of the ingredients of. Mustard and onions are optional, as is cheese sauce, but this is one of the rare cases where extra condiment overload really isn't neccessary.

Also worth mentioning are their very good beach fries, served up as fries should be with side cups of old bay and malt vinegar.

[Chris Amirault]

Aren't fried hot dogs that split open called "rippers"?

[TongoRad]

Aren't fried hot dogs that split open called "rippers"?

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Rippers are dogs that rip open by themselves in a deep fryer, and are most likely a different type of dog (of the pork/veal variety). What NulloModo is describing is different, and is most likely an all beef dog.

I haven't been to Deer Head, but I've had the preparation before in coffee shops and diners in NYC. The dog is vertically split prior to cooking, but not all the way through, and then butterflied. It is put on the griddle flat side down and a weight is put on top while it cooks. The formerly inside part of the dog then gets nice and crispy. Sometimes I've had them served atop a pile of baked beans (no bun), and like NulloModo suggested- they don't need much more than that. I'm sure that chili sauce would be equally good.

[detlefchef]

detlefchef, where is that place located? It sounds like our Spike's, which serves an excellent dog in that very fashion. Maybe a German Shepherd is a broadly-used moniker....

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Durham, NC

[ludja]

A local institution in New Britain, CT since the early part of the 20th century is Capitol Lunch. They serve a half beef/half pork dog with skin casing that just snaps in your mouth. The topping is mustard, raw onions and their 'secret' chili sauce. My parents experimented a bit at home and found out that their sauce is very close to Cincinatti chili--i.e. a Greek inspired chili sauce. (The original owners of Capitol lunch had some Greek heritage, I believe).

We made them at home on my last visit and they were great. The brand of hot dog is called something like "Rossel's" or "Russels"-- my parent's didn't know the spelling but I think they are made in CT. I ususally like my dogs grilled, but for the combo described above, boiled is de rigeur to get the nice snap.

When I googled a bit (unsuccessfully) to find the proper name of the Rossel (sic) hot dog, I dd find this article that talks a bit about CT and New Jersey hot dog tradtions: click

edited to add: Check out egulleteer website HollyEats for great reviews of hot dogs joints on the northeastern seaboard.

Edited July 20, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Anyone familiar with weiner winkies??

[ingridsf]

The NY Times had a hotdog article a while back (sorry, it's not avbl) that explained that dogs sold as Gray's, Sabrett's, etc., are actually the same dogs all produced, I believe, in Jersey. Interesting, mais non?

Now, I love me some sausages and I salute the many fine varieties mentioned upthread, but while all hotdogs are sausages, not all sausages are hotdogs. And this topic is the hotdog.

Somebody mentioned Top Dog in Berkeley. My current favorite is a What's Up Dog, produced by a SF guy who loved Top Dog but got sick of the bridge traffic he had to endure to get to TD. His dogs have a great snap, lots of garlic, and like the very best of anything, are within walking distance of my office. They're grilled, and I eat them w/ plain old mustard and raw onion. They're a mix of beef/pork. Some folks here like his corndogs, and we all fully support the garlic fries. I keep saying I'm going to try the other sausages, like the Calabrese, but haven't so far.

[John]

A local institution in New Britain, CT since the early part of the 20th century is Capitol Lunch.  They serve a half beef/half pork dog with skin casing that just snaps in your mouth.  The topping is mustard, raw onions and their 'secret' chili sauce.  My parents experimented a bit at home and found out that their sauce is very close to Cincinatti chili--i.e. a Greek inspired chili sauce.  (The original owners of Capitol lunch had some Greek heritage, I believe).

We made them at home on my last visit and they were great.  The brand of hot dog is called something like "Rossel's" or "Russels"-- my parent's didn't know the spelling but I think they are made in CT.  I ususally like my dogs grilled, but for the combo described above, boiled is de rigeur to get the nice snap.

When I googled a bit (unsuccessfully) to find the proper name of the Rossel (sic) hot dog, I dd find this article that talks a bit about CT and New Jersey hot dog tradtions: click

edited to add:  Check out egulleteer website HollyEats for great reviews of hot dogs joints on the northeastern seaboard.

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The hot dog brand served at Capitol Lunch in New Britain is called Martin Rosol's. Mostly referred to as Rosol's, it is made in New Britain also. A small, mild tasting beef and pork blend. The chili sause is called Cappy Sauce. I've been to the New Britain location as well as the new location in Storrs, where UConn is located. My daughter went there, so I happenned to be in the area. Everything in the Storrs location is the same as New Britain. I find the dogs ok, but not extraordinary. I went on a hot dog tour this past winter. We hit 9 places including Capitol Lunch. I happenned to like most of the places better; especially Rosco's in Hartford and the Glenwood in Hamden. By the way, I was contacted and included in the article you refer to.

From what I've been told, the people who like Capitol Lunch the most are those who have grown up with it. Most others find it pretty good. The dogs come about 12 to a lb and can be eaten in a few bites. About $1.40 for a dog. The hamburgers are very good there.

[ludja]

A local institution in New Britain, CT since the early part of the 20th century is Capitol Lunch.  They serve a half beef/half pork dog with skin casing that just snaps in your mouth.  The topping is mustard, raw onions and their 'secret' chili sauce.  My parents experimented a bit at home and found out that their sauce is very close to Cincinatti chili--i.e. a Greek inspired chili sauce.  (The original owners of Capitol lunch had some Greek heritage, I believe).

We made them at home on my last visit and they were great.  The brand of hot dog is called something like "Rossel's" or "Russels"-- my parent's didn't know the spelling but I think they are made in CT.  I ususally like my dogs grilled, but for the combo described above, boiled is de rigeur to get the nice snap.

When I googled a bit (unsuccessfully) to find the proper name of the Rossel (sic) hot dog, I dd find this article that talks a bit about CT and New Jersey hot dog tradtions: click

edited to add:  Check out egulleteer website HollyEats for great reviews of hot dogs joints on the northeastern seaboard.

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The hot dog brand served at Capitol Lunch in New Britain is called Martin Rosol's. Mostly referred to as Rosol's, it is made in New Britain also. A small, mild tasting beef and pork blend. The chili sause is called Cappy Sauce. I've been to the New Britain location as well as the new location in Storrs, where UConn is located. My daughter went there, so I happenned to be in the area. Everything in the Storrs location is the same as New Britain. I find the dogs ok, but not extraordinary. I went on a hot dog tour this past winter. We hit 9 places including Capitol Lunch. I happenned to like most of the places better; especially Rosco's in Hartford and the Glenwood in Hamden. By the way, I was contacted and included in the article you refer to.

From what I've been told, the people who like Capitol Lunch the most are those who have grown up with it. Most others find it pretty good. The dogs come about 12 to a lb and can be eaten in a few bites. About $1.40 for a dog. The hamburgers are very good there.

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Thank you very much for the interesting post John, including all the additional information on Rosol's! (They also have very good kielbasa).

I was born in New Britain, as was my father, so we did indeed, grow up with Capitol Lunch! I"d like to try some of the other places you mentioned in central CT especially if you like them even better. The Rosol dogs are small--but that is why one must eat at least two of them.

The information you give in the article is also very informative including the discussion on different types of casings and also about the different types of dogs--all beef vs. beef/pork.

Thanks again.

Edited July 21, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Started thinking that I might have to take a crack at the Sonoran hot dog tonight -- and given the holiday in the U.S., I also thought it might be worth bumping up this topic to see what styles your dogs will be displaying.

[el Jeffe]

Ted's Hot Dogs in Buffalo.  The REAL New York hot dog champ.  Grilled over charcoal, poked and prodded so it splits open, looking like the cook burned the dog, washed down with "bug juice" aka loganberry juice.  Heaven.

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Yes!! Ted's really is the greatest. They use Sahlen's dogs, also from Buffalo. I'm glad to see them mentioned and recommend it to any one. They also have a location in/ near Phoenix, AZ.

Jeff