About Chicago Hot Dogs with the Recipe

There are hundreds of ways to prepare a hot dog, and many cities have their local style. In Chicago, where hot dog stands far out number hamburger joints, there is one classic recipe, and very little variation from it. It is the perfect hot dog.

About the Chicago Dog

There are hundreds of ways to prepare a hot dog, and many cities have their local style. In Chicago, where hot dog stands far out number hamburger joints, there is one classic recipe, and very little variation from it. It is the perfect hot dog (to see my favorite Chicago Hot Dog stands, scroll down).

The customary method is called the "dirty water" method. The dogs are simmered, not boiled, in water for 10 minutes. This makes them turgid and juicy, firm but not rubbery. After simmering scores of dogs in the same water all day the water is rich in flavor. The goal is to cook the meat through without cracking the skins.

Another technique is to steam them for 15 minutes. Steaming leaves the meat more piquant than simmering, with a nice snappy skin.

Some vendors roll them around on a hot dog rotisserie, hot stainless steel tubes that keep the dog rolling in its sleep on a perpetual motion conveyor belt to gustatory perfection. This makes a tastier dog than simmering or steaming, with a crisper skin, but they are not as moist and puffy. The problem is that sometimes they sit on these rollers all day and precious fluids begin to drip off.

The Char Dog

Yield. I serving
Preparation time. 10 minutes
Cooking time. 10 minutes
Assembly time. 2 minutes

Ingredients
1 bun length jumbo all beef frankfurter with a natural casing
1 poppy seed bun
1 long squirt of yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons onion, coarsely chopped fine
1/4 medium Roma tomatoes
2 pickled serrano "sport" peppers
1 kosher pickle spear or fresh cucumber spear, about 5" long
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Notes about the ingredients
You can get most of the fixins at the Vienna Beef Store: Vienna Beef franks with natural casings, sport peppers, neon green relish, Chipco pickles, and celery salt. You can even buy their cool posters, aprons, baseball caps, and more. But beware, their Chicago Style Hot Dog Kit includes skinless franks!!! Oy vay!

The Hot Dog. In Chicago, all beef hot dogs with natural beef casings are compulsory. No pork, no turkey, no chicken. No crap. Snap and squirt are the hallmarks of a good Chicago Hot Dog, and the snap comes from the casings and the toppings. Skinless hot dogs are best saved for infants and the toothless.

The bun. Poppy seeds contribute a slightly nutty taste to the bun. These tiny blue-gray seeds come from an opium plant and they contain miniscule amounts of morphine and codeine. Not to fear, you would probably have to eat more than a dozen buns to lose your job.

The relish. In Chicago the pickle relish has food coloring added that makes it brilliant kryptonite green.

The peppers. Skinny and about 1-2" long, sport peppers are made by pickling fresh green serrano peppers in vinegar and a spiced brine. They are moderately hot but not too hot for wusses like me, and they allow Chicago Hot Dogs to bite you back. Yes, even if you are a feeb, you must have sports for it to be an authentic Chicago Hot Dog. But don't use too hot a pepper. Remember, the Chicago Hot Dog is all about balancing flavors.

The pickle. A kosher pickle spear is common, but the best Chicago Hot Dogs, IMHO, use crunchier new pickles. Try Chipco brand from The Chicago Pickle Company.

The celery salt. Don't leave this out! Alas, many joints do not use it automatically and you have to ask for it. If there is no celery salt, it is not a Chicago Dog.

Do this
1) For the Classic Dirty Water Dog: Bring enough water to cover the dog to a boil, then cut back to a simmer. Simmer, never boil, the dog for 10 minutes.

For a Char Dog: This is a technique I learned from Gold Coast Dogs (see review below). Cut an X shape in the ends of the dog. When they cook they will curl up and get extra crispy (see photo at right). Cook the dogs over a medium high grill until the skin darkens and there are nice grill marks all around.

2) Traditional Chicago Hot Dog buns are steamed. Take a sheet of paper towel and lightly sprinkle it with water until about 20% of it is wet. Wrap the buns in the moistened paper, and microwave for about 10 seconds. If the bun is frozen, nuke it for 30 secs. Exact timing will vary because microwave temps can vary. If you prefer, you can toast the buns on the grill. Make sure you watch the buns while they toast. Turn your back for a few minutes and they can burn to a crisp.

3) Cut the stem off the end of the tomato and squeeze it over the trash can ejecting the seeds. Chop the tomato into 1/4" chunks.

4) Place the frankfurter on the bun. Squirt the mustard on the dog on one side between the meat and the bun. Spread the relish between the meat and the bun on the opposite side of the mustard. Sprinkle the chopped onions on top of the mustard. Distribute the tomato chunks all around. Place the peppers on top of the tomatoes. Place the spear on top of the onions and mustard. Sprinkle the celery salt on top of the vegetation.

5) Absolutely, positively, no ketchup. Fohgeddaboudit.

Top Dog: The Best Chicago Hot Dog Stands

There are more than 1, 500 hot dog stands in Chicago, far more than the sum of McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Some Chicago hot dog stands are practically institutions, decades old, handed down over the generations, with a devoted local following and diaspora of fans around the nation who make the pilgrimage back as soon as they get off the plane. Here are my faves. Some of them vary their hours seasonally so check before you make the drive.

1) Superdawg Drive-In

6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60646. Where Milwaukee, Nagle, and Devon intersect. 773-763-0660. Also: At Midway Airport in Concourse B.
http://www.superdawg.com

The superb Superdawg is served in a campy blue box that says "Your Superdawg lounges inside contentedly cushioned in superfries." As I opened it the lip greets me with "Hiya! From the bottom of my pure beef heart...thanks for giving me the chance to serve you." There were a modest quantity of beautiful dark golden fat crispy crinkle cuts and the skin of a kosher dill pickle, and a wedge of pickled green tomato. No Superdawg or any kind of dog in sight. I had to eat most of them to get top the main event. But it was worth the wait. The frank itself was the fattest of any I had found in my tastings, snappy, juicy, and garlicy. The onions were so finely minced they were almost a slurry, the relish was iridescent, and the pickle spear was the perfect balance of cucumber, salt, and spice. The pickled tomato was an unexpected deli touch. To round out the main course, I enjoyed a Goose Island Honker's Ale with my sandwich, purchased next door at Miska's Liquors.

Afterwards you must have one of their Supersundaes or Blackkows (rootbeer floats). There is a tiny dining room with about 16 seats for adults at a stainless counter circumnavigating the room and four kids seats at a half-height counter.

Founded in 1948, the outside is a time capsule, a set from the movie "Back to the Future" with 30 something slots for cars under awnings with poster size menus and speakers. Practically everything about Superdawg is funky starting with the 10' statues of a weightlifter wiener and a ballerina weiner on the roof. They are named after the owners, Maurie and Flaurie (Florence) Berman. On summer Friday nights at 9, the Roadents Car Club usually congregates at Superdawg with their classic cars and street rods.

On my last visit, as I was leaving I stopped to take some photos from the sidewalk out front. Two hardhats walking by stopped to check out my camera angle and one said to me "Amazing, ain't it?" I replied "Classic Chicago." The other hardhat chimed in, "No, it's Americana." Justifiably ranked among the top 10 hot dogs in the nation by Jane and Michael Stern, authors of the book Roadfood, Superdawg is more than a hot dog, more than a restaurant, it is an All-American experience. Dog 10/10. Atmosphere 10/10.

2) Hot Doug's Encased Meat Emporium

Easily the hippest pups in town. This dinky but colorful joint says on its sign that it is the "Sausage Superstore" and even has it's own theme song for which there are rock, techno, and other mixes. Proprietor Doug Sohn serves the classic Chicago Hot Dog of course, the obligatory Polies, but then there are the rabbit, boar, pheasant, duck, and kangaroo sausages. How about a venison sausage with sweet and spicy mustard and red wine soaked dried blueberries for $5.50. All the sandwiches are served in a cardboard boat so the bun is fluffy and the contents are not squished.

You can get your Vienna Beef dog boiled or grilled, and their standard prep includes onions caramelized in butter for 90 minutes. Doug says "You can't go wrong adding butter to anything." Don't skip the very nice golden brown crispy fries, which, on Fridays and Saturdays are fried in flavorful duck fat.

The gregarious Doug is often working the counter. A pleasant erudite character who, in a former life was a cookbook editor, he is also a bit of a rebel. When the City of Chicago banned foie gras, he continued to serve it until they served him with the City's first foie gras summons.

He has outfitted his small dining room with colorful chairs, Elvis memorabilia, and loopy signs and wall hangings. Certainly one of the most fun hot dog stands in town. Unfortunately it closes at 4 p.m. Cash only. Dog 10/10. Atmosphere 10/10.

3) Gold Coast Dogs

Their signature variation on the classic is the "Char Dog." Rather than boiling their Vienna Beef hot dogs, they grill them, giving them the slightly sweeter flavor generated by browning meat, and a crispier chewier texture. To further enhance the grilled texture, they split the ends of the dogs so they flare out and get crispy. I love the grilled flavor and texture. My favorite location is Union Station where you can get a beer from the bar a few feet away, and the people watching in unparalleled. At Midway, they sell pretty good bagels for breakfast, but somehow this seems all wrong. Really wrong. Dog 10/10. Atmosphere 7/10 (Union Station).

4) Vienna Beef Factory Store & Deli

The Damen St. location is the lunch room/deli for the meat plant, but it is open to the public, and if you're into Chicago Hot Dogs, visiting The Source is as obligatory as a trip to Napa for wine lovers. Not surprisingly the sandwich is made by the book, although I was a bit stunned to see a crinkle-cut 4" slice of pickle rather than a spear on my bun. Even their own website says it should be made with a spear. The decor is clean, and the posters are great fun. My favorite: A photo of a Chicago Hot Dog with the caption "This Hot Dog Rated NK-17. It will not be served with Ketchup to anyone under 17." They sell the posters, condiments, and meat products to take home. They even sell a Hot Dog Lovers Kit for $69.95 with 16 hot dogs, 16 poppyseed buns, mustard, relish, sport peppers, and celery salt. You need to get your own onion, pickles, and tomatoes. It's a fun place and dining with butchers in coveralls and hairnets is kinda cool, but, with its mustard yellow walls, and fluorescent lights it has all the charm or a high school cafeteria. Dog 8/10. Atmosphere 7/10.

5) America's Dog

Navy Pier Food Court, 700 E. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Phone 312-595-5541. Hours: From Memorial Day to Labor Day they are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Fall and winter hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
http://www.americasdog.com

Yeah, yeah, I know this place is new and sterile and touristy in a food court not far from McDonald's. But they make great hot dogs and Navy Pier is a lot of fun with everything from the Shakespeare Theatre to the Stained Glass Museum to the Sculpture Garden to Imax to carnival rides.

In 1993, George and Manolis, the 20 something sons of Gus Alpogianis, owner of Kappy's Restaurant and Pancake House, in Morton Grove had an idea for a new restaurant. They took a three week cross country trip from New York to LA gorging on America's favorite food at every chance along the way. At the end of their "whirlwind weiner" tour their Jeep was filled with mustard stained napkins, grease stained French fry bags, a wad of notes, and a plan.

Three years later they opened America's Dog, an homage to the hot dog theme and variations in the food court of the colorful carnie/bazaar/fine arts center that has become one of the nation's most popular tourist spots, Navy Pier. There they rub elbows with McDonald's, Ryba's Fudge, and King Wah Express, among others.

The menu has the classic Chicago Hot Dog, served perfectly and lovingly in a form fitting styrofoam shell that keeps it warm and the bun fluffy. One could wish for a more environmentally friendly box, but a box is better than wrapping in tissue paper as most places do it. At the core is a Vienna Beef frank, Rosen poppy seed bun, four sport peppers, and they know that the Chicago Hot Dog has celery salt and you shouldn't have to ask for it. I was especially impressed with the fat pickle spear that was crunchy, not too salty, and still had the taste of cucumber in it. Not surprisingly the Chicago Dog is their best seller accounting for 40% of all orders.

The menu also includes 14 other preps: Corn Dog, Buffalo Dog, Houston Dog, Dallas Dog, New York Dog, Pittsburgh Dog, Milwaukee Dog, DC, Dog, Baltimore Dog, Atlanta Dog, Louisiana Dog, Green Bay Dog, Kansas City Dog, and the Cosmic Dog which contains chili, mustard, ketchup, relish, onion, pickle, tomato, shredded cheddar, and celery salt. You can buy all the above "Jumbo" which is about twice the size of a regular dog, much larger than grocery store jumbos. The fries the offer are seasoned curly fries, and when I ordered them the raw potatoes were dropped into the oil. The came out a few minutes later piping hot, crisp, and delightful. And the people watching on Navy Pier is unparalleled. One word of warning: They have a booth outdoors on the south side of the pier, and they do not have all the proper fixins for a proper Chicago Hot Dog in the stand. Disgraceful! Dog: 10/10. Atmosphere: 9/10.

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