Wow! What a great response we had to the hot dog condiments and toppings article. In keeping with that theme, I’d like to pass along a real gem from HDCN reader Michael Sacher…
Steve,
I was organizing my recipes for a family cookbook that my wife is publishing. Among them was a recipe for a coney sauce from Crystal’s. I have the original recipe and here it is:
PERTH AMBOY’S CRYSTAL’S HOT DOG SAUCE
Yes everyone, this is the REAL THING original. This was gotten directly from the owner of Crystals sometime in the early sixties. You will notice that this makes enough for a whole days worth of hot dog vending, if that is your business. It freezes well for normal eaters. We make a batch every spring, just in time for grilling season, so I have tasted it, and assure you this is IT.
CONEY ISLAND SAUCE
3 LBS. CHOPMEAT
1 ONION
1 TSP. CLOVES
1 T. SALT
1 1/2 TSP. CHILI POWDER
1 TSP. CELERY SALT
1 TSP. PAPRIKA (CAN USE MORE FOR MORE COLOR)
1 TSP. CURRY POWDER
COOK CHOPPED ONION IN A LITTLE OIL, ADD CHOPPED MEAT AND CLOVES AND BROWN. ADD ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS AND 1/2 GALLON OF WATER. SIMMER FOR 3 HOURS. ADD WATER AS NECESSARY. WHEN COOKED PUT IN BLENDER AND MAKE A FINE MASH.
(“Once upon a time, the place to go for the best hot dog was the Crystal Restaurant in Perth Amboy.NJ (sic)..the “Coney” meat sauce was stellar, a perfect complement to the weiner along with a little bit of chopped onion and a light shmeer of mustard.” Chowhound Magazine)
Respectfully yours,
Michael Sacher
********************
Just more proof that I have the most wonderful readers in hot dogdom. You folks are the best.
Thanks for the recipe Michael!
-Steve
P.S. Happy St Patrick’s Day!
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess I’ll be cooking this weekend. Thank you!
Wow! Thanks for sharing that, sounds delish! Good luck to you and your wife on that Cookbook, let us know when it comes out, I love cookbooks!!!!
Okay, this southerner has a dumb question. What exactly is chopped meat? In these parts chopped meat is bbq pork, as in “do you want it pulled or chopped?”
sounds like a good recipe may have to try it
thanks
Thanks, Michael, this recipe sounds great. I can’t wait to try it. Pardon me for not knowing, but is chopped meat the same as what we call ground beef here in the South?
Thanks again for sharing.
Sorry, but that is not the real thing. Looks good but that is not real coney sauce. My grandfather lived his whole life in Jackson, MI and passed down the real coney sauce recipe from way back in the day to my father who passed it on to me. But I am willing to guess that people don’t like the real thing because of the chicken liver, beef liver, beef heart, and a little bit of ground- but mmmm mmmm mmm its soooo good.
@Jai, I would LOVE that sauce that you are talking about! YUMMM!
I’ll ask the same question, (I’m Southern, too) “Chop Meat” is what? Sounds like pork BBQ to me, too. Is it ground beef?
Wanda Swan
Steve,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day back at ya! Our Special today is:
THE KILKENNY DOG~100%BlackAngus Beef Natural Casing hot Dog wrapped in Classic Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket and crowned with Savoy Cabbage Slaw nesting on Our Homemade Potato Roll, served with Pub Fries and an Icy Cold Pocono Birch Beer…..$3.17
Ok. Now I’m officially starving. Thanks so much for my next “secret” recipe.
I DON’T MEAN TO RAIN ON ANYONES PARADE BUT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO MAKE A SAUCE RICHER TASTEING IS OVERCOOK IT TO THE BURNING POINT AND IT WORKS YOU JUST HAVE TO WATCH IT AT THAT POINT
ALSO I COOK MY SAUCE FOR THREE DAYS TO GET IT THAT WAY IF IF YOUR AFTER RESULTS
Yes, in NJ chopped meat usually refers to ground beef. Your choice of cut/fat ratio.
I also have had the original Coney Sauce as my father was a butcher back in the day and he told me the sauce was originally invented to find something to do with the unusable parts. It’s really labor intensive and not cost effective these days but to get close to the flavor, I use cheap hot dogs ground up along with the ground beef. A lot of the same ingredients go into the dogs that went into the old sauce. I have a batch of this simmering right now and can’t wait to put it on a dog. Thank You for this.
I also agree that the original coney sauce is labor intensive but I find it is highly cost effective. I make about 2 gallons for around $20. I have the recipe at home and will try to remember to come back here later tonight and upload it for anyone curious
Sounds delicious! Almost sounds as if it’s similar to the sauce they put on the Kuntzler hot dogs at the Texas Famous Hot Weiner Restaurant in Hanover, PA. Does anyone have that recipe?
Hey, I’ve had the dogs a long time ago at the Texas Lunch in Hanover I recall them as being good. I used to go there to pick up my UTZ chips which I wish they sold here in Florida. When I lived in Maryland I sold the Kunzler (no “T”) hot dogs they were outstanding! I sold so many many that my salesman Charlie G. invited me each year to a Penn State football game and a Phillies game. Those were the days. What was the subject again? Patrick
Now my stomach is growling! This sounds fantastic!
always looking to go outside the box, anyone ever tried serving seasoned, fried sour kraut? playing with idea please share
I tried this recipe tonight. I followed it to the “T”
It now has to simmer for 3 hrs. I hope it taste better then it smells. Right now it’s not looking to be very good. What kind of chili do the people of north eat? Our HD makes us use non-meat chili on the cart. We use a can veggie chili; we put in a food processor and then add a little ketchup to it for a slight sweet taste. Our customers seem to love it.
Hey all
I ve never slung a dog outside of my backyard. This will be my first go of it and I believe the condiments are going to make all the difference. Oh, by the way, I’m way up in Canada and I know things are done differently up here. I personally am not a fan of chilli dogs but have made sauces and gravies that taste great. I’ll try this one, this weekend. Do chilli dogs and sauces do well down there?
You Sauce, I Sauce, we all Sauce. Seems to me that in all regions of the U.S. there is a different version of the Coney Sauce. As long as it is selling off our carts, I don’t think it really matters whos sauce is the Original. Just a thought. It all sounds good and our customers seem to lve our versions of it. Lets all have fun and serve it up! Have an awesome Spring.
Donna, I was looking at a Mexican style pickled cabbage tonight. It sounded great. I think it would go great with a Monterey jack cheese, mustard and mild sausage……
New York hot dog cart onion sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil 2 medium onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup ketchup
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 dash salt
1/2 cup water
Directions
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion slices.
Saute about 7-10 minutes until golden& limp.
Mix in the ketchup.
Add the cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder,hot pepper sauce& salt.
Pour in water, stir.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 10 minutes.
Makes about 1 cup
Customers love this sauce here in the midwest
This subject is long debated as to where it originated from. There are many different versions and they can be found all over the web. Here is a quote from Nicks.
“While the birth of the Coney Island hot dog has been well documented, it is more difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the famous “Coney Island sauce.” There is no solid evidence that the unique chili sauce featuring finely ground hamburger and bearing the Coney Island name originated in Brooklyn, New York. All that is clear is that by 1920 dogs topped with this distinctive “Coney Island sauce” had gained widespread popularity in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.”
This sounds very much like a recipe we have used … it was great … one difference is our recipe called for using suet (yes, it’s an OLD recipe) … we used crisco as an alternative.
Hello to All, Their are as many chili Sauce recipes as sand on the Jersey Shore. Everyone has the best and probably so. But here is a good suggestion………. At the end of the day if you should have shriveled or water logged hot dogs and sausage, don’t through them out. Keep them in your freezer till you have a bunch. Thaw them, grind them and throw them in your next batch of chili with the ground beef. Trust me on this I have been cooking over 40 years. Hot dogs and sausage have great flavor and so will your chili.
Anybody out there know the recipe for the famous Pals hotdog sauce? Pals is a local hot dog hamburger chain in East Tennessee. I was told that it was purchased from a local diner named Dippsy Doodle back in the 60′s.
This is a recipe I use that doesn’t take a long time to make.
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the ground beef and onion for 5 to 10
minutes, or until meat is well browned. Crumble meat to a fine texture with a fork, if
necessary; drain excess fat.
Stir in the mustard, vinegar, sugar, water, Worcestershire sauce, celery seed, hot pepper
sauce and ketchup. Mix well reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes.
I’m cooking this sauce right now. I really wish I had a picture of what the finished product is supposed to look like. Right now it’s way too watery.
When I started cooking it everyone in the house said is smelled great. Maybe it will thicken up once I throw it in the blender, but right now it looks like soup.
This IS the original !! Grew up in Perth Amboy woth Chrystal and Coney Island almost side by side with the same basic recipe ! Used to buy 5 or 6 at a time while ” hanging out” on Smith Street !! Thanks for sharing !
Wow
Thanks…this old Jersey Boy, born and raised in Woodbridge, many hours at the Perth Amboy YMCA befor I took for for 27 years in the USAF every so often would say to my wife Judi (A Jersey Girl)…Gee I wish I could have one of the crytsal hot dogs. You made my day..many fond memories of the place after swimming lessons and selling Chrismas Trees in the YMCA lot! Thanks
Jim
Great ! Spent many hours “attached” to the parking meter in front of the old Chrystal as well as the Coney Island on Smith St , watching the crusing cars al la ” American Graffitti ! We would order 4-5 at a time and couldn’t beat the taste ! EVERY time I am back in Jersey ( now in Texas ,formally in CA ) I stop in Perth Amboy for a much needed “infusion ” ! Thanks !
PS I was also given the ” original” reciepe 30 years ago and it is the same one !!!
Thanks guys for all the tips , reciepes ..one queston though, is the red onion sauce served on the dog hot or cold?
There are some errors in this recipe! My grandfather was part owner of the Crystal Restaurant as well as the Coney Island Restaurant in Perth Amboy New Jersey. The hot dog sauce was served in both restaurants, but his original sauce recipe, I believe went with him to the Crystal restaurant when he sold the Coney Island Restaurant. I mention this because he was incredibly secretive about the sauce recipe. Even the staff didn’t know the ingredients. He would make up the seasoning mix and pre-portion it for the cooks to combine with the meat, lard, and water. The original recipe was 12lbs of meat, 5lbs of lard and 1/2 gallon of water. If you are making the recipe with 3lbs of meat you want to use a 1/2 quart or 16 ounces o water. I can tell you that the mix of spices is almost correct, but one is missing. Out of respect for my grandfather, I’ll leave you to discover the missing spice for yourselves. Good luck!
Has anyone ever tried Ray’s Chili sauce for Hot Dogs?
GREW UP IN HOPELAWN. LOVED THOSE CONEY ISLAND HOT DOGS. THEY HAD A FLAT GRILL IN THE WINDOW. STEAMED ROLLS WRAPPED IN WAXED PAPER. BOUGHT THEM BY THE DOZEN. THEY WERE ONLY 15 CENTS EACH. GETTING HUNGRY JUST THINKING ABOUT THEM.
I’m guessing either cumin, coriander or nutmeg is the missing spice and I’m leaning heavily toward nutmeg.