Forth of July Classic Coney Dog Meat Sauce

The Great American Grilled hotdog is all grown up! In fact, the classic weenie is not really all that American! The classic weenie has international roots and has been specialized for regional tastes with the help of professional sports such as baseball and tailgating football and auto racing!

You can find variations of hot dogs, bratwursts, and sausages across the country served up with local flare at sports stadiums, food trucks, specialized restaurants, and of course on back yard grills.

But, you can’t go wrong on the Fourth of July with a classic, and nothing is more classic when it comes to hotdogs than a Coney!

Grilled Version – Not Steamed

The hot dog has a pretty neat history. Lore has it that back in the day immigrants were confused by the Americanized term “hot dog.” Apparently they didn’t realize that it was a nickname for what many would consider a linked sausage back home. Many may have thought the meat was actually made of dogs.

The solution was an early 1900’s law around the Coney Island area that prohibited the use of the term “hot dog” in favor of ordering a “Coney Island.”

What you’ll need

The trick to making a “Coney” is to NOT make a simple “chili dog.” The meat topping is not what you would consider a traditional chili.

• Beef or pork hot dogs
• Coney style meat sauce
• Mustard
• Fine chopped onions
• Fresh bun
• Splash of mustard if desired.

A version of a Coney Meat Sauce

This recipe is from my cookbook – Great American Grilling. Hope you enjoy it with your Coney Style dog!

• 1 pound ground beef browned, drained, and fine crumbled
• 1 onion fine chopped and browned with meat
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• Dash of sugar

Directions for Meat Sauce

• Brown and drain the meat and onions. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until reduced and almost dried out.

Building it!

Here’s the easy part! Fire up the grill with the BBQ Dragon Chimney of Insanity and Grill up some hot dogs! Add some grill lines to the buns as well. Top the dogs with some of the Coney Meat Sauce, chopped onions, add some cheese, and a splash of mustard if desired. Done! Enjoy your Fourth of July Coney!

Note: Coney Island hot dogs are most often steamed but grilled versions are pretty tasty as well!

Author Bio: Kent Whitaker, also known as “The Deck Chef,” is an award-winning culinary writer and cookbook author. He’s also penned Young Reader, NASCAR and History titles. The former winner of the Emeril Live Food Network Barbecue Contest also covers football, motorsports, and bass fishing. Kent currently lives in East Tennessee with his wife, son, and a couple of dogs that love when he fires up the smoker or grill. You can reach out to Kent at www.thedeckchef.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.