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Hot diggity dog, these are delicious :P

From !

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This is not a “chili dog” sauce, though they are similar. For Vargr, “Chili Dog” means lumps of ground meat and beans in a chili-like sauce.

This “Coney” sauce differs in the texture of the meat (smoother, slightly more like a meat gravy than chili), the lack of beans, and a very different flavor profile.

It is important to boil the meat, not to brown it first. This is a key to the texture. That's why the tomato paste is added late in the recipe. It's easier to boil the meat before the tomato thickens things up so much.

Changes in the flavor profile between "chili" and "Coney" come from the amount of mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce (not to mention a very large assortment of other spices, many "sweet" types not found in chili) that give it more a 'condiment' quality than a chili and beans flavor.

Note - Yes, those amounts in the spices are correct! There's a HUGE amount of spice and flavor going on in there! Remember, you're doing a thick layer, but compared to the dog and the bun, the sauce is still in the minority. It needs to be bold!

Vargr's “Coney Island” Dog Sauce
Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 lbs lean ground beef
1 6oz can Tomato Paste
3 tablespoons Ketchup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Large onion, minced (or chopped fine)
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic (or garlic paste)
1.5 to 2 C water
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce
2 teaspoons “better than bullion” beef base
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/3 cups minced dried onion
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
(You can sub additional "regular" chili instead. Ancho chili powder is warmer, and doesn't include the additional salt, cumin, and other spices normally found in most store"chili powder")
1 & 1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon ground Roasted cumin (or use more 'regular' cumin)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (if needed)
(1 teaspoon brown sugar, depending on how sweet the tomato paste is)

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon Allspice, $ 1/2 teaspoon Ceylon Cinnamon

Directions:

In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, and then saute together the minced onion, and minced garlic until the onion is starting to turn translucent.

Add the water, cider vinegar, Sriracha hot sauce, Soy sauce, “better than bullion” beef base, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke to the pot.

Stir in, dried minced dried onion, smoked paprika, chili powder, Ancho chili powder, prepared mustard powder, ground cumin, ground Roasted cumin (or use more 'regular' cumin), celery seed, ground black pepper, salt (optional), brown sugar (depending on how sweet the tomato paste is).

Crumble in lean ground beef. Stir it up frequently while crumbling in the beef to make sure none of it clumps up!

Let it come to a boil and cook until the beef is done (no pink showing) stirring frequently. If necessary, mash up the beef with a potato masher as it cooks to break up any lumps. The idea is to break down the beef as much as possible. You don't want big lumps. The finer-grained, the better here.

Add in Tomato Paste and Ketchup. If desired, add in the allspice and cinnamon.

Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or 2 for everything to combine and the meat to break down even more.

Add more water if necessary to keep it a thick sauce. (Wuff ended up with a total of nearly 3 cups over 2 hours simmering).

If it still looks lumpy, break out the immersion blender and blend the sauce until the texture is that of a slurry/paste. If you don't have time for it to simmer for 2 hours to break up the beef, use the blender and you can cut the time to about 45 minutes.


[NOTE - this stage, once the meat has boiled, can be moved to a crock pot. This has the advantage of being able to keep it warm over a longer time, like a big picnic or a food booth. And you can serve right onto the dogs from the crock. You may not need to add as much water either, with the crock, as it takes simmering it on the stove.]

You want the sauce thin enough to spread out and not stay in spoonful heaps on the dogs, but not so much it runs off the end of the dog if you tilt it a bit.

To Serve:

Grill some some good quality dogs and serve in some nicely steamed buns.
Pour this sauce on top!

Optional - Include some sides of fresh diced onion and shredded cheese to top your Coney with!

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Note - This sauce has been "Vetted" by some pretty "hard core" New Yorkers. They declared it as "legit", and definitely very close to the sauce they grew up on.

Vrghr has made this many times, and it vanishes each time! But, wuff suspects it would freeze perfectly well, and you could thaw portions later for when you wanted another batch of dogs.

Note2 - with a very small adulteration, this is a "ringer" for Skyline Style Cincinnati Chili! Wuff has a friend with a serious love of that stuff, and she swears this is nearly indistinguishable from the restaurant version, with some minor alterations! Vrghr will be posting that Chili alteration tomorrow!


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Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may effect your health and well-being