The self-declared King of Hot Dogs hails from Chicago, IL. It's truly a local favorite. Chicago has more hot dog stands than McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger Kings combined. I have to admit I was skeptical at first... no ketchup?! Hot peppers? SWEET pickle relish? Never would I have assented to murder a perfectly good sausage with such goofy condiments... unless I had a very good reason. Can nearly 10 million Chicagoans be wrong? My discovery was: no. There's a reason your typical Chicago native is portrayed like the chubby, hearty, life-loving Chris Farley (see left)... and that reason, I believe, is the Chicago Style Hot Dog. A delicious blend of beef sausage, a poppyseed bun and an entire backyard garden's worth of vegetables. I brought plenty of backup dogs, buns and condiments (including ketchup & sauerkraut) for those of our number who might not care for the overloaded Chicago dog but all 5 of us cleared our plates and Z and I both went back for seconds.
On to the recipe (this is for a single Chicago Dog, duplicate for each additional)...
