Your classic wiener and bun combo, but the meaty chili sauce is what separates these Coney Island Hot Dogs from all other hotdogs. Top it with some cheese, onions, and mustard and this is a recipe you’ll want to keep on file!
These hot dogs remind me of carnivals and summer boardwalks! Some other Fair foods that you might enjoy are Fresh Squeezed Homemade Lemonade, Homemade Soft Pretzels with Mustard Cheese Dip, and Corn Dog Mini Muffins!
Welcome to Michigan Week where I’m sharing some of my favorite recipes for this portion of the American Eats Series! We’re celebrating with packzi (polish filled donuts!) and coney dogs!
If you are wondering why I’m sharing a recipe that originated in Brooklyn with a collection of Michigan recipes, that’s totally understandable! But back in the day a large group of immigrants from NY brought a love of these Coney Island hot dogs to Michigan during their travels, making them a Detroit favorite. Now they are one of the foods that Michigan is most famous for, despite retaining the New York namesake!
You can leave the ketchup in the fridge because this hot dog is perfectly spiced and full of flavor. Another thing that distinguishes the coney dog from other hot dogs is the mustard and chopped onions served on top of the meat sauce.
There might be debate about other possible toppings, but one thing that everyone does agree on is that the classic meat sauce served on top is what separates this hot dog from your typical chili dog.
My family tends to be pretty basic when it comes to hot dogs (I’m the one who loads them up with sauerkraut, onions, and J Dawgs Sauce), so I wasn’t sure how well these would go over, but everybody LOVED them.
Even the mustard haters, even the ones who don’t like onions – seriously, these coney island hot dogs were a HUGE hit and I was glad we had some leftovers for lunch the next day!
What You’ll Need
- Ground beef: Any kind of ground beef is great for this recipe, although I tend to do 85/15 or 90/10.
- Onion: I like to use yellow onions since they are slightly sweet, but any onion you have on hand will work great.
- Spices: This sauce comes to life with the spices: chili powder, cumin, slat, garlic powder, celery salt, and black pepper.
- Tomato sauce: This will give it it’s chili like texture that is saucy but not too saucy.
- Yellow mustard: A classic and fundamental ingredient to the coney dog. You’ll use this both in the chili sauce and on top.
- Worcestershire sauce: To give the sauce an extra pop of flavor.
- Hot dogs: Beef hot dogs are an essential for this recipe. My favorites are the ones from Costco!
- Shredded cheese: Shredding your own cheese with ensure ultimate meltiness, but you can use pre-shredded if that’s what you have on hand.
Let’s Make Coney Island Hot Dogs!
- Brown the ground beef with half of the chopped onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks until no longer pink and the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
- Season. Add in the chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and celery salt. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato sauce, water, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. Add additional water, if needed, if the mixture becomes too thick.
- Warm the buns. While the sauce simmers, wrap the hot dog buns in foil and place them in the oven to heat through for about 10 minutes.
- Cook the hot dogs. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the hot dogs and cook for 5-7 minutes until heated through.
- Assemble. To assemble, place a hot dog in each on the warmed buns and top with the chili. Sprinkle shredded cheese and finely diced onion on top, then finish with a squirt of yellow mustard. Serve immediately.
Recipe FAQ’s
An all-beef dog is typically what you’ll get when you order a Coney Dog in Detroit, and actually one of the reasons it is so popular. This is also what I use for my recipe.
A chili dog is usually any type of hot dog in a bun topped with chili that has beans in it. A coney dog is specifically a beef frankfurter topped with an all-meat sauce made with a number of spices and no beans!
You’ll want to store these leftovers all separately for best results. The meat sauce and cooked hotdogs can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Of course! The traditional Coney Dog is topped with meat sauce, mustard, onions, and cheese. So if you add any other sauces or toppings, it technically isn’t really a Coney Dog, but you definitely want to enjoy your food. You can top it with tomatoes, jalapenos, ketchup, BBQ sauce, relish, or whatever you love.
What to serve with Coney Dogs?
- Homemade French Fries
- Crispy Fried Onion Strings
- Grilled Corn Salad
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Classic Potluck Broccoli Salad
More Delicious Recipes Like This
- Grilled Cajun Chicken Sandwiches
- Cilantro Bomb Burger
- Soy-Glazed Mushroom Swiss Burger
- Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
- My Best Classic Chili Recipe
- Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Coney Island Hot Dogs
Ingredients
Chili Sauce
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion diced, divided
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard + more for topping
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Assembly
- 8 hot dog buns
- 8 hot dogs
- Shredded cheese
- Finely diced onion
- Yellow mustard for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Wrap hot dog buns in foil.
- Brown the ground beef with half of the chopped onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks until no longer pink and the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and celery salt. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomato sauce, water, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. Add additional water, if needed, if the mixture becomes too thick.
- While the sauce simmers, wrap the hot dog buns in foil and place them in the oven to heat through for about 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the hot dogs and cook for 5-7 minutes until heated through.
- To assemble, place a hot dog in each on the warmed buns and top with the chili. Sprinkle shredded cheese and finely diced onion on top, then finish with a squirt of yellow mustard. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
More States I Have Visited in my American Eats Series
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I made these for dinner last last night! They were super easy to make and loved by our whole family! I will definitely add this to our recipe rotation, especially for busy school nights! September Food Challenge
I made my state food for your challenge because I think it’s the best food around. I’m biased though LOL.
1/2 tsp garlic powder is listed twice. Do we add a full tsp, or is it a duplicate?
Sorry! That was just a typo. It’s just one 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and I’ve updated the ingredient list to be correct. Thanks for pointing that out for me!
So close to the original recipes in most Coney Island restaurants in Detroit. The only thing you missed to be 100% authentic is true Coney Island restaurants in Detroit do not use tomatoes or tomato sauce. They make a chili gravy and use a stick blender. Half of it is pureed and the other half is not so you do have pieces of meat but genuine Coney Islands are made Greek style and this changes your seasonings.
Good to know! I love learning more about the authentic recipes from various places. So interesting! I like to research various ways to make it and sometimes there are so many different versions! Thank you!
Great recipe! However, steaming the dogs and buns is the way to go!
Hi Amy. I’m sure that this is a tasty chili recipe but true coney dog chili is made with ground beef and ground beef hearts. I know that may not be appealing to some but that’s what gives you the ‘muddy’ brown color, flavor and texture. There are other recipes out there that include the beef heart for those interested in trying it. Just search Detroit Coney Island chili.