Rhode Island hot dogs are known as New York System weenies, although there is nothing remotely like them in New York. (In New York City, that is. The Michigan of Plattsburgh, New York, is vaguely similar.) The logical explanation, which has yet to be proven in fact, is that nearly all of the Ocean State’s wiener depots, which are remarkably similar, were opened by cooks who once had worked at America’s frankfurter mothership, Nathan’s of Coney Island. Even if that’s true, however, the fundamental mystery remains: Where, when, and why did the hot dog, once a New York sausage with a German accent, get topped with distinctively Greek-seasoned sauce and proliferate all across the country (except New York) as a Coney Island weenie?
Rhode Island’s small pink links—always known as weenies, never hot dogs or frankfurters—are smothered with fine-grind beef sauce that is moderately spicy and maybe a little sweet. Yellow mustard, chopped raw onions, and a shot of celery salt complete the picture. The “system” element of the name means they are made in a systematic way, by lining up multiple dogs in buns and dressing them assembly-line style. Old-time counter men can array a few dozen from wrist to shoulder, adding sauce and condiments with lightning speed. Hence the common local description of New York System dining: wieners up the arm. Providentians, who think nothing of having six for a midnight snack, fondly call them gaggahs, local dialect for “gaggers.”
Mustard, sauce, and onions eclipse the New York System weenies they dress.
Application of the term New York System is ambiguous: It can be the style of preparation and service, the weenies themselves, or the name of the restaurant. For example, Olneyville N.Y. System restaurant of Providence serves New York System wieners using the New York System to prepare them.
New York System Sauce
Like all chili sauce recipes for hot dogs, the fine-grind beef that tops New York System weenies is made from formulae that are guarded as tightly as that for Coca-Cola. After careful study and a little prying, we came up with the following blueprint for producing a chili sauce in the style of New York System restaurants. It is eminently suited to franks of any pedigree, all-beef or porky.
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound lean chuck, ground very fine
½ cup beef broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1. Sauté the onion and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Add the ground chuck and cook until it is browned, stirring constantly with a fork or spatula to keep it broken up. Drain off excess oil. Add the beef broth and seasonings. Simmer 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
2. The sauce should be topped with mustard and raw onions. It is zesty, so use it sparingly. This recipe makes enough to dress 8–10 modest-size hot dogs.