Back in July Carla was out of town on a sisters’ trip and I made a couple of attempts at making some Coney dogs. You can read those posts on take 1 and take 2. One take was a disaster and the other was barely passable so I guess I didn’t get it out of my system. A couple of months ago I came across a recipe for Detroit style Coney dogs an Amazing Ribs; looking at the ingredients I thought it had potential. I made some adjustments and you can find my copy of the recipe here.
In late January early February Carla went to Chicago to help watch Jurgen when Henriët went to New York City with the Chicago Symphony Chorus to perform at Carnegie Hall (#brag). Since she was going to be gone for Super Bowl weekend we changed up our traditional party so I hosted the Trophy Husbands, our bowling team. Unfortunately Ashok was out of town so it was just me, Herb and Frost. I had subjected them to my Coney Dog experiments in July so I wanted to get their opinions on this take.
The spice packet is nice: chili powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ground pepper, oregano and salt (among others).
First step is a simple browning of the burger. I used all ground chuck rather than using some beef heart as called for. When I worked at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in the 70’s they served beef heart; since the staff ate the same food as the inmates I had my share so I don’t need to eat it again.
Cooking this dish uses a lot of pots. After browning the meat we drain the fat for use in a roux then sauté the onion and red pepper with the burger. I changed it up a bit and started the vegetables without the beef. The roux takes about 15 minutes to make; toasting the flour for quite a while then stirring in the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and tomato paste. About half way into the sauté I realized the pan I was using wasn’t big enough so I had to transfer the mixture into my 6 1/2 quart pot.
Then after putting everything together for a simmer I realized there wasn’t nearly enough liquid for an hour simmer. So I heated some water in the electric kettle and stirred it in.
I used a blending stick to thicken the sauce. To serve we split some Hebrew National hot dogs lengthwise for a quick fry. While that was going on I heated some buns in the microwave, squirt some CYM (Classic Yellow Mustard) on the buns, tossed on the dog, heaped some of the sauce on and topped with onion and grated cheese.
All in all it wasn’t a great meal – I rate it at 2 stars. I think I need to just get over my Coney dog hunt and just go to Roakes or Annies when I gotta have one.
Super Bowl isn’t complete without lots of snacks. Herb brought his fabulous meatballs and Frost brought a delicious cheesy, Ortega chili dip. And of course we needed chips and guacamole.
After the game I accidentally took a picture with the camera on my counter top. I liked it.
