New York System Hot Wieners
New York System dogs are known by many names in Rhode Island, most commonly called "wieners" or "gaggers", and are neither a hot dog, nor a chilli dog, nor are they from New York. What they are is plain delicious, made with pork and veal wieners, a steamed bun, and a spiced meat sauce.
Ingredients
For Your Wieners
- 10 pork/veal wieners see notes
- 10 New England style hot dog buns white, with the slit at the top, NOT the side
- ½ white onion minced
- yellow or spicy mustard
- celery salt
NY York System Wiener Sauce
- 1 lb ground beef or turkey
- 4 tbsps butter
- ½ cup water more if needed
- ½ white onion minced
- 2 tbsps minced garlic
- 1½ tsps cumin
- 2 tsps paprika
- 2 tsps chili powder
- 2 tsps allspice
- 2½ tsps dried mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tbsp celery salt
Instructions
NY York System Wiener Sauce
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Melt butter in a deep skillet, then cook the minced onion until translucent, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant. Remove everything from pan, melted butter and all, and set aside.
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Crumble the meat into the same pan, the smaller the pieces the better. Brown the meat, stirring frequently, continuing to mash and break the meat up as it cooks. You can use a potato masher, or even a whisk, to make the meat as finely crumbled as possible.
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Optional step: if you want a less greasy meat sauce, remove the meat from the pan drain off as much of the fat as you can. Put the browned meat in a strainer and rinse under cold water to remove even more of the grease. Traditionally, however, the sauce is pretty greasy.
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Return the buttery onion and garlic to the pan and mix with the meat. Add the water and stir, breaking up the meat further. Add the cumin, paprika, chili powder, allspice, and dried mustard to the pan, mixing completely. If needed, add more water and allow the meat to simmer until the liquid reduces.
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In a medium pot, boil some water. Once it reaches boiling point, add your wieners and cook through, usually about 5-10 minutes.
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Taste the meat and add salt if needed. Save this step for last, as the salt content of the celery salt can vary by manufacturers.
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Place your hot dog buns on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave the buns for 20-30 seconds to steam them until they're heated through, but not too soggy.
Wieners, All the Way
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Place the wiener in a bun.
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Smear mustard on wiener.
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Spoon meat sauce down the length of the wiener.
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Spoon diced onion over the meat sauce.
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Sprinkle celery salt on your wiener.
Recipe Notes
NY System wieners (or weiners, as the locals sometimes spell it) are NOT your typical beef franks. They are made from a mix of pork and veal, and are smaller and thinner than a typical hot dog, and chances are good that you're not going to find them in your local grocery stores. You can use any franks, as long as they aren't smoked or cheese-filled, but if you want to be truly authentic, you can buy some from Little Rhody Brand Frankfurts, as long as you're willing to buy at least 5 lbs at minimum.