I was a hot dog in a past life. A hot dog a day keeps the doctor away. I say silly stuff like this all the time. But, why wouldn't I? I am the hot dog queen in my kitchen. My husband's an aficionado of Italian-American-style sausage, pepper and onion sandwiches (which I can take-or-leave). In my food world, the hot dog reigns supreme, and, I like all kinds too -- from New-York-style Dirty Water Dogs, to New Jersey-style Italian hot dogs, to, last but not least, Chicago-style hot dogs. That said, my hands-down favorite is: Texas-Style. Read on:
Texas chili dogs are slathered with yellow mustard and topped with an ever-so-slightly chunky, to-the-tooth chewy, aromatic all-meat chili. You'd think they were from Texas, but they actually were the invention of an unnamed Greek gentlemen who owned and operated a small restaurant in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1924, he devised a chili sauce that drew upon flavors and spices of his heritage. Much like Cincinnati chili, a dish also created by Greek immigrants, Texas chili sauce included cloves as well as garlic and other spices. According to legend, because the chili was made with hand-ground steak, not ground beef, it earned the "Texas" part of its name.
Steak is always great, but, ground beef is super-good too:
2 pounds high-quality 90/10 ground beef, no substitutions
8 ounces diced yellow or sweet onion
8 ounces diced celery
1 cup ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
~ Step 1. Dice the celery and onion as directed, placing them in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, as you work. Using a series of 30-35 rapid on-off pulses, finely mince and combine the two. You want the veggies to be as finely minced as possible without puréeing them or becoming soupy. Set aside.
~Step 2. To make the sauce, in a 2-cup measuring container or a small mixing bowl (the measuring container is easier), use a spoon to stir together the ketchup, chili sauce, yellow mustard, cayenne pepper sauce and Worcertershire sauce. Add and stir in the chili powder, garlic powder and ground cloves. Stir until smooth and uniform in color. Set aside.
~Step 3. Place the ground beef in a 3 1/2-quart chef's pan. Add and stir in the onion-celery mixture. Over medium- medium-high heat, cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until the meat has lost all of its red color and is steamed through. Keep your heat adjusted so that at no time, no browning occurs. Continue to cook, again, stirring frequently, until almost no moisture/liquid remains in the bottom of pan, about 30 minutes.
~Step 4. Add the ketchup/chili sauce concoction to the skillet and give the mixture a thoroughly stir. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer and continue to cook, stirring frequently (to avoid any chance of scorching), 15 more minutes. Turn the heat off and cover the pan. Allow the mixture to steep, another 15-30 minutes, or up to 1-2 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator) prior to serving or freezing for several more chili dog dinners.
Recipe makes 6 cups sauce, &, each 1 cup tops 4-6 chili dogs:
Texas-Style Ground-Beef Chili-Sauce for Hot Dogs: Recipe yields 6 cups/enough to sauce 24-36 hot dogs.
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; food processor; 2-cup measuring container; 3 1/2-quart chef's pan w/straight, deep sides & lid; spatula; large spoon; 6, 1-cup freezer-safe food-storage containers (or containers of desired size)
Cook's Note: Mexi-Hots is a Pennsylvania, registered, fictitiously-named business, originally filed on February 4, 1948 (the company will celebrate it 70th birthday on February 4th, 2018). The filing status is active. The company's principal address, originally on the the corner of College Avenue and Pugh Street in downtown State College and owned by the Carelas family, is currently located at 2390 South Atherton Street -- Pop's Mexi-Hots are now made by and sold at Meyer's Dairy. Try my recipe for ~ Happy Valley PA's Pop's Mexi-Hots Hot Dog Sauce ~.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2021)
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