Chicago Style Hot Dog

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)...

.:INGREDIENTS:.

• 1x All-Beef Weiner (Chicago uses Vienna Beef with natural casings, I like Hebrew National best thus far)
• 1x Hot Dog Bun (Chicago uses ones with poppy seeds on the outside, difficult to find elsewhere)
• Yellow Mustard
• Sweet Pickle Relish
• Dill Pickle Spear
• Chopped White Onion
• Sliced Tomato (Half-Moon Shape)
• Pickled Sport Peppers (I used pepperoncini since "sport peppers" aren't marketed in my area. The two are made from the same pepper but pickled slightly differently. Go for a sweet, not-too-spicy pickled pepper.)
• Celery Salt (optional, but not to Chicagoans)

.:ASSEMBLY:.

1. Cook hot dog for 8 minutes in lightly simmering (not boiling) water or grill for 5-6 minutes on a hot grill. DO NOT BOIL! I prefer grilled but the traditional method is the "dirty water" method.
2. Wet a paper towel and wring out. Wrap bun in damp paper towel. Microwave for 8-10 seconds. Bun should be soft and pliable without feeling "mushy."
3. Place heated hot dog in freshly steamed bun.
4. Add a generous stripe of mustard along the length of the dog (I either do 2 quick stripes or one "swirled" stripe).
5. Add a similar amount of sweet pickle relish as mustard.
6. Tuck the dill pickle spear between the top half of the bun and the hot dog.
7. Tuck two half-moon tomato slices between the bottom half of the bun and the hot dog.
8. Sprinkle freshly chopped onions atop the dog.
9. Lay two pickled peppers across the top of the dog.
10. (Optional) Sprinkle with Celery Salt.
11. Eat.