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Vargr's "Coney Island" Dog Sauce
 Moderated by: Vargr, shadowcat-x, boojum
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 Posted: Sat May 26th, 2012 03:43 pm
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Vargr
Vargr


Joined: Tue Jun 7th, 2005
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
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This is not a “chili dog” sauce, though they are similar. For Vargr, “Chili Dog” means lumps of ground meat and beans in a chili-like sauce.

This “Coney” sauce differs in the texture of the meat (smoother, slightly more like a meat gravy than chili), the lack of beans, and a slightly different flavor profile.

For wuff, it was important to boil the meat, not to brown it first. This is a key to the texture. That's why the tomato paste is added late in the recipe. It's easier to boil the meat before the tomato thickens things up so much.

Changes in the flavor profile between "chili" and "Coney" come from the amount of mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce that give it more a 'condiment' quality than a chili and beans flavor.


Vargr's “Coney Island” Dog Sauce

In a large heavy pot, heat over medium-high
  1 tablespoon olive oil

and then saute together
   1/2 Large onion, minced (or chopped fine)
   1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic (or garlic paste)
until the onion is starting to turn translucent.

Add to the pot
   1 & 1/2 C water
   3 tablespoons cider vinegar
   1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
   1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce
   2 teaspoons “better than bullion” beef base
   2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
   1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

   1/3 cups minced dried onion

   1 & 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
   1 tablespoon chili powder
   1/2 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
       (You can sub additional "regular" chili instead. Ancho chili
      
powder is warmer, and doesn't include the additional salt,
      
cumin, and other spices normally found in most store"chili
      
powder")
   1 & 1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard powder
   1 tablespoon ground cumin
   1/2 tablespoon ground Roasted cumin (or use more 'regular' cumin)
   1/2 teaspoon celery seed
   1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
   1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
   (1 teaspoon brown sugar, depending on how sweet the tomato paste is)

Crumble in
   1.5 lbs lean ground beef
Let it come to a boil and cook until the beef is done (no pink showing) stirring frequently. If necessary, mash up the beef with a potato masher as it cooks to break up any lumps. (shouldn't be required as boiling the beef breaks it down well).

Add in
   1 6oz can Tomato Paste
   3 tablespoons Ketchup

Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or so for everything to combine.

Add more water if necessary to keep it a very thick sauce. (I ended up with a total of nearly 3 cups over 3 hours simmering).
[NOTE - this stage, once the meat has boiled, can also be done in a crock pot. I'd give it 2 hrs or so on high, 4+ on med. This has the advantage of being able to keep it warm over a longer time, like a big picnic or a food booth. And you can serve right onto the dogs from the crock.  You may not need to add as much water either, with the crock, as I did simmering it on the stove.]

You want the sauce thin enough to spread out and not stay in spoonful heaps on the dogs, but not so much it runs off the end of the dog if you tilt it a bit.

To Serve:
Grill some some good quality dogs and serve in some nicely steamed buns, and pour this sauce on top!

Optional - Include some sides of fresh diced onion and shredded cheese to top your Coney with!

~~~~~~~
This is a “first cut” at coney sauce. Will be trying it out on a “true” New Yorker at today's “Memorial Day Hot Dog Social” at his place. He had some Nathan 1/4 pound dogs (the BIG ones) flown in from his family in NY. So hopefully this passes his muster.

Luckily, if I'm not too far out, this sauce is easy to adjust. Not sweet/tomato-y enough? More Ketchup! Needs more 'zing'? Kick in a bit more Sriracha and perhaps a little more Ancho chili, (or even cayenne pepper). And more cumin or chili powder will easily slant it that way. Here's hoping I'm 'close'.

To this wuff's non-NY tastebuds, this is pretty darn good 'as is'. And could even make a really good “Sloppy Joe” as it stands (though perhaps more ketchup is needed for that use.)

Last edited on Sat May 26th, 2012 03:50 pm by Vargr



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 Posted: Sun May 27th, 2012 12:36 am
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Vargr
Vargr


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Wuffy is back from the "hot dog social" and the verdict is in on the Coney Island sauce.  *looks off stage* "Judges, may I have the envelope?"

Aaaaaand the result is....

WE HAVE WINNER!


At least a half dozen of the folks there looked up Vargr specifically to tell him how much they loved that sauce on their dogs! Our "true New Yorker" tasted it and pronounced it good and authentic, specifically crediting the texture (wondered how wuff had made the beef so silky), though he also loved the flavor.

He did mention that, as Vargr found in his recipe reviews, some of the Coney Sauce folks did like a hint of allspice or cinnamon in their sauce. But that not all the vendors did that, and he really liked the flavor of this one. 

So, for those of you who enjoy the variation, wuff would suggest a very subtle start with those sweet spices - perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of them - until you get a taste of the results. If you like that (and Vargr is tempted to try them on the next batch), then you can kick it up slowly from there.

Oh, the crowd completely devoured the pot of sauce and scraped it clean with over an hour yet to go at the party. That was enough sauce for at least 2 dozen dogs (maybe more like 3 dozen), depending on how generous folks got with the servings (those going back for seconds were piling it on!).

Even with the Nathan's 'mega-dogs' our New Yorker had flown in (these beasts hung at least 1.5 inches out each end of the buns, and the buns only wrapped half way up the sides!), folks were still piling mounds of this on top.

It really warmed this wuffy's heart to see how well this went over!

So - for those who love a good "Coney" style dog, this is definitely a sauce to try out!  And, as Vargr can attest, having had it on 2 "mondo" Nathan's and 1 bratwurst, the "right" way to do it is to scatter some fresh onions atop, with a layer of grated cheese, and then a nice line of yellow mustard squirted down the center. MMMMmmm, SOOOO good!

Some times, its the simple things that count. But just because its a dog with some coney sauce, doesn't mean that quality won't add to the result. Get a quality dog, slather this on and top it up, and you'll give up stopping at Sonic's and A&W and paying 4-5$ for something you can do far better at home, and at far less cost.

Enjoy! And Happy Eating!



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 Posted: Tue Jun 17th, 2014 05:54 pm
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Vargr
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Skyline Chili Conversion

While out at Boojum's for the Memorial Day holiday time, Vargr made a batch of this coney sauce and added the cinnamon and allspice some folks had suggested at the hotdog party wuff first served this at. Boojum and Shadowcat-x really liked it!

Shadowcat-x remarked that the sauce in its altered form tasted remarkably like the Skyline Chili she loves. She always stops by for a happy serving of it when she goes back home to Kentucky. Wuff had made "Cincinnati chili" before, but didn't realize this version approximated that of the famous "Skyline" version. So wuffy looked up the "copy cat" recipes for that on line, and what do you know!? The ingredients and techniques are nearly the same!

Whether you serve it "2 ways" or "5 ways", or anything in between, you can get a VERY close copy of that famous and unique Cincinnati flavor by making the following minor adjustments to Vargr's Coney Island Sauce.

Add the following spices when boiling the hamburger:
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
2-3 bay leaves
1-2 Oz baking Chocolate, or 2-3 Tablespoons powdered Cocoa

Prepare in the same way, boiling the beef and going for a thick "meat gravy" style with silky texture. Remove the bay leaves before mashing up or serving.

For those not familiar with Cincinnati Style Chili, the meat sauce is served over Spaghetti, and then optional beans, cheese, and/or diced onions are added on top. In Cincinnati, each additional layer of goodies is a "way", so 1-way is just the chili sauce, 2-way = sauce over spaghetti, 3-way adds a heaping mound of grated mild cheddar cheese, 4-way adds diced onions, and 5-way = "the works" with red kidney beans added. All are served with Oyster crackers on the side. And some folks like drizzling hot sauce over the pile.

Cincinnati Style Chili is about as unlike a typical "Bowl of Red" that you might find elsewhere, but it is a great variation and well worth a try, at least once, just to say "ya done it"! And it IS good eats, if also rather different!

Last edited on Tue Jun 17th, 2014 06:22 pm by Vargr



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