Recipes by Zola - Chili Dog Chili

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Chili Dog Chili

Zola Gorgon

The Battle of the Hot Dogs...

Both companies got their start in Chicago in the late 1800's. Vienna Beef and Oscar Mayer. Vienna Beef stayed in Chicago. Oscar Mayer eventually headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

Flash forward to 1965. The following jingle has played on the radio and TV so many times we children sung choruses of it throughout our Appleton, Wisconsin neighborhood.

"My boloney has a first name...it's O-S-C-A-R. My boloney has a second name...it's M-A-Y-E-R.

Oh, I love to eat it every day. And if you ask me why I'll say,

Cuz Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

Hotdogs became a staple of childhood. Babies were fed hot dogs as one of their first solid foods. I remember the hotdogs being cut into little coin shapes and placed with bites of cheese on the trays of highchairs. This was an easy meal for Mom. When the baby decided to flail the food across the room and onto the floor it was easy to clean up. For baby, there was much entertainment in chasing the little coins of meat around the tray, learning to pick them up and squish them across their newly acquired teeth and sort of gum them down; that was, until the boredom set in and the flailing ensued.

At summer family gatherings the kids were fed hot dogs. Mine were grilled and covered in ketchup. (More on ketchup later. It becomes a controversial condiment). With a few potato chips, the kids were fed, and again, it was easy on the parents.

As grown-ups, in many households the habit of eating hot dogs morphed into eating bratwurst. "BRATS". Meaty, juicy, boiled in onions and browned on the grill. BRATS. Go to any tailgate party. Look around. You'll be assaulted with the vision of BRATS and beer. Welcome to Wisconsin.

Now, back to Chicago, where the Vienna Beef Company still resides, and you'll hear a slightly different story. Kids are eating hotdogs, but in this instance, the adults are too. The Vienna Dog, during the Depression, took on a whole new form. The hotdog becomes the whole meal and continues that way to this day. The idea of eating ketchup on a hotdog goes out of style. Ketchup is replaced with a whole slew of ingredients that now elevate the hotdog to a salad on top of a hotdog. The steamed poppyseed bun is the holder. The hotdog goes in and then it's topped off with yellow mustard (no fancy French stuff), chopped white onion, a green relish that is so bright it's neon, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, a sprinkle of celery salt and the final touch, a few sport peppers. Now, that's a meal. The co-mingling of the cold salad on top of the hot dog and you have a taste sensation. People, like me, who'd like some ketchup on their hot dog are, in some cases, not so gently asked to leave the establishment. They'll have none of that ketchup nonsense!

Chicago and Madison are only 107 miles apart. One state away, and yet hotdog worlds apart.

But what about the chilidog? Where did it come from? Now you flip to New York, where the Coney Island dog originated. Coney sauce is basically beanless chili. Fly to Ohio and the beans get put back in. Go figure.

And that's where today's recipe comes from. My husband, a native of Ohio, gets these hankerings for a chilidog. I used to buy the chili in a can. This year I decided to research the chilidog recipes from across the US and then blend what I thought were the best-of-the-best elements to come up with my own. My husband loved it on his hotdog. I ate my chili on the side and allowed myself to have ketchup on my hotdog. Make yours Chicago-style and follow the directions above. Make yours a brat if you want. Or cover yours in chilidog chili. Rights of the individual prevail.

Chili Dog Chili
Covers 12 hot dogs

1 pound of ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
4Tbl of Grey Poupon mustard
2 Tbl of apple cider vinegar
2 tsp of chipotle chili powder
3/4 cup of ketchup
1 can of Bush's chili beans with sauce (optional)
1/2 of a beer (lager or your choice)

In a large saucepan add the ground beef and the onion. Cook, on medium, chopping up the beef with a wooden spoon and cook both until the onions wilt and the beef no longer shows any pink.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on medium-low for 20 minutes. Stir periodically. Turn the heat up to medium, and get the chili dog chili bubbling. Keep on medium to reduce the chili. Stir often so it doesn't stick to the pan. Serve over grilled or boiled hotdogs. You can eat this chili in bowls too, and sprinkle on things like grated cheddar and chopped onion. It's versatile. Enjoy!

Cheers! Zola

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.

This news arrived on: 06/06/2008

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