A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings. The method for cooking the hot dog itself varies depending on the vendor's preference. Most often they are steamed, water-simmered, or less often grilled over charcoal (in which case they are referred to as "char-dogs").
The canonical recipe does not include ketchup, and there is a widely shared, strong opinion among many Chicagoans and aficionados that ketchup is unacceptable. A number of Chicago hot dog vendors do not offer ketchup as a condiment. For National Hot Dog Day on July 19, 2017, Heinz created controversy by introducing ketchup, labeled as "Chicago Dog Sauce", to the disdain of many Chicagoans â€" but their effort also unearthed a minority of ketchup aficionados in the city.
History
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Many sources attribute the distinctive collection of toppings on a Chicago-style wiener to historic Maxwell Street and the "Depression Sandwich" reportedly originated by Fluky's in 1929. The founders of Vienna Beef frankfurtersâ€"the most common brand served today, first sold at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicagoâ€"and the proprietors of Fluky's were both Jewish, which may account for the wieners' pork-free, kosher-style character.
Variations
The "dragged through the garden" style is heavily promoted by Vienna Beef and Red Hot Chicago, the two most prominent Chicago hot dog manufacturers, but exceptions are common, with vendors adding cucumber slices or lettuce, omitting poppyseeds or celery salt, or using plain relish or a skinless hot dog. Several popular hot dog stands serve a simpler version: a steamed natural-casing dog with only mustard, onions, plain relish and sport peppers, wrapped up with hand-cut french fries, while the historic Superdawg drive-ins notably substitute a pickled tomato for fresh. Many vendors, including Portillo's, offer a Chicago-style dog with cheese sauce, known as a cheese-dog.
Preparation
Chicago-style hot dogs are cooked in hot water or steamed before adding the toppings. A less common style is cooked on a charcoal grill and referred to as a "char-dog". Char-dogs are easily identifiable because very often the ends of the dog are sliced in crisscross fashion before cooking, producing a distinctive cervelat-style "curled-x" shape as the dog cooks. Some hot dog stands, such as the Wieners Circle, only serve char-dogs.
The typical beef hot dog weighs 1/8 of a pound or 2 ounces (57Â g) and the most traditional type features a natural casing, providing a distinctive "snap" when bitten.
The buns are a high-gluten variety made to hold up to steam warming, typically the S. Rosen's Mary Ann brand from Alpha Baking Company.
Restaurants
The Chicago area has more hot dog restaurants than McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King restaurants combined. A "hot dog stand" in Chicago may serve many other items, including the Maxwell Street Polish, gyros, pork chop and Italian beef sandwiches, corn dogs, tamales, pizza puffs and Italian ice. The restaurants often have unique names, such as The Wieners Circle, Gene & Jude's, Gold Coast Dogs, Mustard's Last Stand or Morrie O'Malleys; or architectural features, like Superdawg's two giant rooftop hot dogs (Maurie and Flaurie, named for the husband-and-wife team that founded the drive-in). One of the most popular vendors of the Chicago-style dog are Chicago's professional sports teams; in fact, those sold at Wrigley Field are affectionately known as "Wrigley Dogs".
After Portillo's, Boz Hot Dogs (aka Bozo's) and Scooby's Red Hots have the most locations and thus also are top vendors of Chicago Style Red Hots.
Popular and historic vendors
See also
References
Further reading
- Barrett, Joe (October 26, 2015). "Chicago-style hot dog icon credited with role in Apple's latest emoji menu". MarketWatch. Retrieved November 23, 2015.Â
- Bowen, Rich; Fay, Dick (1983). Hot Dog Chicago: A Native's Dining Guide. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBNÂ 0-914091-27-1. OCLCÂ 9197138.Â
- City News Service (August 28, 2015). "Dodger Stadium features loaded Chicago Style hot dog for Cubs series". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved November 23, 2015.Â
External links
- Media related to Hot dog stands in Chicago at Wikimedia Commons
