Chicago Dog: Dragged Through the Garden

Chicago Dog: Dragged Through the Garden

Recipes with Chicago Hot Dog

The canonical Chicago-style hot dog: an all-beef frankfurter in a steamed poppy seed bun with all seven toppings in the correct order. Yellow mustard first, then neon green relish, white onion, tomato, dill pickle spear, sport peppers, and a shake of celery salt on top. No ketchup. Not ever.

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

5 min

Servings

2

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 all-beef frankfurters (Vienna Beef if available), natural casing
  • 2 poppy seed hot dog buns
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp neon green Chicago-style sweet pickle relish
  • 2 tbsp white onion, chopped fine
  • 4 tomato slices or 4 small tomato wedges
  • 2 dill pickle spears
  • 4 sport peppers (or pepperoncini as a substitute)
  • Celery salt, for finishing

Steps

1

Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Place the frankfurters in the water and heat for 5 to 6 minutes. The water should never boil hard: a hard boil splits the casing. Alternatively, use a steamer basket.

2

Steam or microwave the poppy seed buns. For steaming, place them over the pot of hot water for 30 to 45 seconds. The bun should be soft and slightly warm, not wet.

3

Slice the tomatoes into four thin slices each, or cut small wedges. Pat them dry with a paper towel so they do not make the bun soggy.

4

Place the hot frankfurter in the bun. Apply yellow mustard along one side of the dog. Add the relish on the opposite side. Scatter the chopped white onion over both.

5

Tuck two tomato slices or wedges into one side of the bun, between the sausage and the bread. Tuck the dill pickle spear into the other side, parallel to the dog.

6

Lay two sport peppers on top of the sausage. Finish with a light shake of celery salt across the whole dog. Serve immediately, wrapped in wax paper or in a cardboard tray.

Tips

The toppings go on in a specific order for a reason: the mustard and relish touch the dog directly, the tomato and pickle provide structure on the sides, and the sport peppers and celery salt finish from above. Ketchup is not a substitution or a personal preference here. It is a different dish.