Illinois is the next state up in our state food series – and we have The Chicago Dog! And there were certainly some good choices, Chicago deep dish pizza being the one mentioned most. But my husband was born and raised in Chicago – and he says Illnois is all about the Chicago dog!
Putting together the Chicago Dog:
In an effort to be authentic I did some research. First – cooking the dog. It seems the most popular ways to prepare the dog is steamed or water-simmered, although some vendors grill. Dennis (my husband), said boiled. Only boiled (I assumed he meant water-simmered). So, in the water they went.
The next thing that makes this dog stand out is the poppy seed bun. Sorry – I bought the wrong bun. Dennis said it’s OK. It doesn’t really effect the flavor. Warm that bun up and drop in a dog.
The condiments are important. Very important I’m told. And of course, it’s the condiments that make it a Chicago dog.
The Food Network stated that there is no tomato and absolutely no ketchup. Dennis said that is half right. You MUST have tomato (I cut cherry tomatoes in half, but I was told beefsteak slices are better. OK dear. You head on over to farmer’s market and see if you can find them). Top that dog with pickle wedges, tomato slices sport peppers, sweet pickle relish, white onions and ballpark mustard (the yellow stuff). Finish it all off with a sprinkling of celery salt (a very necessary ingredient).
About those peppers. There really is no other pepper that tastes quite like sport peppers. It’s almost a cross between a pickled jalapeño and a pepperoncini. I bought the real deal on Amazon and I’m glad I did. I love this little pops of flavor!
So move on over deep-dish Chicago style pizza – you’ve been replaced with the Chicago dog!
© Copyright 2019 The Lazy Gastronome
An iconic sandwich that was born in the state of Illinois - and very specific on the toppings.
- 8 all beef, bun length hot dogs
- 8 poppy seed hot dog buns (or just regular)
- 1 - 2 large, sliced tomatoes
- 16 pickle spears
- 16 sport pepperes
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- Sweet pickle relish
- yellow, ballpark mustard
- celery salt
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Bring a pan of water to boil. Lower the hot dogs into the water then reduce to warm and simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Warm the buns in the oven until they are just lightly softened.
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Top each bun with one dog, 2 pickle spears, 2 sport peppers, tomatoes, onions, relish and mustard.
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Top the whole thing off with a sprinkling of celery salt.
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Take a bite and enjoy!
Here are some things that are perfect to use for this recipe!
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links through Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!
I love a good hot dog once in awhile and your Chicago dog looks like it would be a nice change from my chili dog. Must look for those sport peppers – never heard of them :)
Those little peppers really made them tasty! Thanks for stopping by.
Glad you chose to do the dog instead of the pizza (since I live, or rather lived, near New Haven, CT…) This looks entirely tasty! I like those toppings, mustard definitely has to be there. Thanks for bringing this to Fiesta Friday!
And you’ve gotta have those peppers!! I’m hooked on them! Thanks for stopping by.
Looks amazing, thank you for sharing the recipe at The Really crafty Link Party. Pinned!
Thanks – and thanks for stopping by!
Thank you Helen for stopping by Friday Features to share, there is nothing better than a good hotdog. We love using Herbrew dogs.
Thanks Karren – I usually use the Hebrew national but this time I bought some lesser expensive Bar-S. We were pleasantly surprised! They were quite tasty!
Never knew there was such a thing as a Chicago hot dog…. Looks really good, though!
My husband is from Chicago – and he’s very particular!! LOL – It was really good.