Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

Choose your dogs wisely. All-beef or all-pork hot dogs, or a combination of beef and pork, are the standard. Look for dogs in natural casings, which give the distinctive “snap” and mouthfeel of a properly prepared hot dog. Although Chicago-style hot dogs are often steamed, our riff on this classic comfort food involves cooking the dogs on a grill and serving them with buttered, lightly toasted buns.

Ingredients:

  • 8 all-beef or beef-and-pork hot dogs, preferably with natural casings
  • 8 poppy seed hot dog rolls, split
  • Melted unsalted butter for brushing
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped tomato
  • 6 banana peppers, quartered lengthwise
  • 1 cup relish
  • Celery salt, to taste
  • Beer mustard, to taste
  • 2 or 3 small dill pickles, quartered lengthwise

Directions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill. Brush and oil the grill grate.

Grill the hot dogs directly over medium-high heat, turning often, until lightly charred and plump, about 5 minutes total. Move the hot dogs to indirect heat. Brush the insides of the rolls with melted butter and grill, cut sides down, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Turn the rolls over and grill for about 30 seconds more.

Serve each hot dog on a roll with equal amounts of the onion, tomato, banana peppers, relish, celery salt, mustard and dill pickle spears. Serves 8.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma On the Grill, by Willie Cooper (Oxmoor House, 2009).